The Library of Congress > Linked Data Service > LC Subject Headings (LCSH)

Conversion therapy


  • Here are entered works on behavior modification techniques that attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual norms or gender identity to cisgender norms.
  • URI(s)

  • Variants

    • Conversion programs, Gender identity
    • Conversion programs, Sexual
    • Gender conversion therapy
    • Reorientation programs, Gender identity
    • Reorientation programs, Sexual
    • Reparative programs (Gender identity)
    • Reparative programs (Sexual orientation)
    • Reparative therapy
    • Sexual conversion programs
    • Sexual reorientation programs
  • Broader Terms

  • Related Terms

  • Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

  • Earlier Established Forms

    • Sexual reorientation programs
  • Sources

    • found: LC database, May 31, 2006(sexual reorientation; sexual reorientation interventions; sexual conversion therapy; reparative therapy)
    • found: Wikipedia, May 31, 2006("Reparative therapy (also known as "conversion", "reorientation" or "differentiation" therapy), refers to any of several techniques that are aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation from homosexuality to heterosexuality (or ex-gay). Their claims of efficacy have been refuted, and almost all professionals warn that such attempts are psychologically harmful and the therapy has been condemned unanimously by all mainstream health and mental health organizations. Advocates claim that sexual orientation is changeable and that homosexuality is itself either a psychological disorder, a sin, a tendency toward immoral and harmful behaviours (to oneself and others), or make several of these assertions ... The language used to describe reparative therapies is itself contentious. Opponents prefer to use the term 'conversion therapy'.")
    • found: Google search, May 31, 2006(sexual reorientation programs; reorientation programs; reparative programs; sexual conversion programs)
    • found: Google search, Mar. 6, 2023("conversion therapy" 2,590,000 results; "reparative therapy" 300,000 results; "sexual reorientation" 37,300 results; "gender conversion therapy" 10,800 results)
    • found: Google Books Ngram Viewer, viewed Mar. 10, 2023(English-language results from 1800-2019 for sexual reorientation, reparative therapy, and conversion therapy; from 1983 to 2005, conversion therapy rises steadily in use, dropping slightly between 2005-2007, after which it again rises steadily until by 2019 it is used twice as often as reparative therapy and nearly 400 times as often as sexual reorientation; reparative therapy is the most widely used term, by a negligible margin, from 1992-2013, after which conversion therapy continues its steep rise in usage; since 2016 the use of reparative therapy has declined steadily.)
    • found: Merriam-Webster, viewed Mar. 11, 2023(the use of any of various methods (such as aversive stimulation or religious counseling) in an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to correspond to the sex the person has or was identified as having at birth) - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy
    • found: GSSO - the Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation ontology, Mar. 8, 2023(conversion therapy. SN The pseudoscientific practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity using psychological and/or spiritual interventions. Has related synonym: reparative therapy. Subclass of: identity alteration)
    • found: Mallory, C. Conversion therapy and LGBT youth, update, 2019, viewed Mar. 7, 2023(Conversion therapy, also known as sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts, is a practice grounded in the belief that being LGBT is abnormal. Conversion therapy is practiced by some licensed professionals in the context of providing health care and by some clergy or other spiritual advisors in the context of religious practice. Efforts to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity are associated with poor mental health, including suicidality.)
    • found: International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association website, Mar. 10, 2023('Conversion therapy' is a term describing pseudo-scientific and harmful practices used to attempt altering a person's gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation.)
    • found: Dyer, C. Gender conversion therapy: why is banning it so divisive?, in The BMJ, 2022, viewed online Mar. 15, 2023( "In the National LGBT Survey in 2017, a self-report survey, 5% of respondents said they had been offered conversion therapy in a bid to "cure" them of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.")
    • found: American Psychological Association website, viewed June 30, 2023:APA Resolution on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts ([SOCE]; SOCE have included nonscientific explanations of sexual orientation and frame them as unhealthy; SOCE lack sufficient bases in scientific principles)
    • found: American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry organization website, viewed June 30, 2023:Policy statements--Conversion therapy ("Furthermore, based on the scientific evidence, the AACAP asserts that such "conversion therapies" (or other interventions imposed with the intent of promoting a particular sexual orientation and/or gender as a preferred outcome) lack scientific credibility and clinical utility.")
    • notfound: MESH;Women's thesaurus;Thesaurus of psychological index terms
  • General Notes

    • Here are entered works on behavior modification techniques that attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual norms or gender identity to cisgender norms.
  • History Notes

    • [Heading changed from Sexual reorientation programs to Conversion therapy in July 2023.]
  • Instance Of

  • Scheme Membership(s)

  • Collection Membership(s)

  • Change Notes

    • 2006-05-31: new
    • 2024-02-21: revised
  • Alternate Formats