Sometimes people close to us, who want our well-being and have good intentions, direct us to conversion 'treatments' without our knowledge. It is not enough that the therapist I went to has certificates and has psychological, psychiatric, or social training! Unfortunately, even people who understand the harm of the treatment use their title to perform conversion 'treatment'.

So, if the good intentions of those around us are not enough and if an official certificate is also not a sufficient guarantee, what are the indications that I am in conversion treatment ?

Conversion therapy is goal-oriented. To recognize whether you are in it, the key is to examine the purpose and goals of the therapy, not just the language used by the therapist.

​

1. What problem is the therapy trying to solve ?

​

Ask yourself:

• Why am I in therapy?

• What does my therapist say the “problem” is ?

If the problem is defined as your sexual orientation or gender identity itself, this is a strong indicator of conversion therapy.

​

2. Is the focus on peace and functioning—or on erasing identity ?

​

Healthy therapy aims to:

• Help you find peace, self-acceptance, and normal functioning

• Support your mental health and overall quality of life

• Explore how to live authentically and safely in your circumstances
   

Conversion therapy, by contrast:

• Treats orientation or identity as something to be removed

• Frames change as necessary for healing or moral correctness

• Prioritizes conformity over mental health

 

3. Is therapy about paving a future—or “fixing” you ?

​

Healthy therapy is not cosmetic. It does not try to remove an identity or behavior to make you “acceptable.” Instead, it:

• Works collaboratively with you

• Focuses on building a meaningful, sustainable future

• Respects your autonomy and identity
   

If therapy treats your orientation or identity as an obstacle that must be eliminated, rather than a reality to be understood and integrated, it is likely conversion therapy.

 

 

 

If you seek religious counseling it will inevitably encounter tension between belief, identity, and community. The decisive question is how that tension is resolved. Care that is spiritually healthy makes room for conscience, discernment, and personal responsibility, and accompanies the individual as they seek a faithful and meaningful life. It does not rush to predetermined answers or demand the abandonment of self as the price of belonging.

​

When counseling offers acceptance only after change, defines faithfulness as self-denial of identity, or sets a fixed outcome as the condition for spiritual legitimacy, it crosses into conversion therapy. A path that requires erasing who you are in order to walk with God is not spiritual guidance, but coercion.