The young man had the rapt attention of his college classmates when he spoke:
“I was 8 years old, a long way from puberty. I was watching an episode of the old Star Trek TV show from the ‘60s. There was a scene when Captain Kirk had no shirt on, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I didn’t feel any sexual attraction, but I just wanted to wrap myself around that chest. Years later as I moved past puberty and into my teens, I realized that I was sexually attracted to guys, not girls. I remember thinking back to my Captain Kirk episode and being surprised; I guess my brain realized I was gay before my body did.”
For two reasons, this classroom comment was not as surprising as you might think. First, the student was well-known on campus as gay, and he made no attempt to hide his orientation. Second, in class that day we were discussing the psychology of sexual attraction, and had begun talking about whether our attractions were based on conscious choice or an inborn nature present at birth. The question I had posed to the class was simple: “Do you think a therapist could use psychological persuasion techniques to change your sexual orientation?”
After telling his Kirk story, the young man answered my question: “Absolutely not. I did not choose to be gay. It’s who I was at 8 and it’s who I am now. No therapist could possibly change that.” A conversion therapist would disagree with that last sentence. Conversion therapies for homosexual attraction began in the 1960s, and were designed for those who were bothered by their sexual preference and wanted to change to conform better to larger society. The therapy model was based on fundamental conditioning principles: For a homosexual male, combine images of attractive men with pain, and images of attractive women with pleasure. One version of this therapy was called “Playboy Therapy.” A homosexual man would sit in front of a screen. At times, a photo of a naked attractive man would appear on the screen, and be accompanied by a very painful shock to the client. The shock would end when a new picture, a relief stimulus, appeared, a naked Playboy centerfold. The idea was to condition the client to consider the naked male disgusting and the naked female pleasing. Variations of conversion therapies were widespread in the ‘60s and ‘70s and were, at best, “behaviorism gone wild.” Plus, and most importantly, they not only did not work in changing one’s sexual preference, but they also often resulted in significant psychological harm to the client.
Conversion Therapy in 2025 has expanded beyond the conditioning model of 60 years ago, and challenges clients in core personality areas of self-esteem and self-understanding with potentially devastating messages: You are confused over who you are and who you should be; you are sick, broken, pathological, disordered, and need to be repaired; you have lost your decency; you cannot trust yourself and should feel shame, guilt, and self-hatred. Most psychologists believe that such attacks on a client’s personality dynamics run counter to the foundation, goals, and ethics of psychotherapy, and can pose a risk to the psychological stability of the client. How do they advise clients who feel out of the mainstream when it comes to sexual attraction, and who feel anxiety, identity problems, or other emotional difficulties? Many advise such clients to confront their reactions to their homosexual inclinations, not the inclinations themselves. They caution that denying and trying to change those inclinations through counseling might cause more problems in the long run. Clients may be better off going into counseling not to change who attracts them, but to adjust their thinking about who they are; to realize that it’s OK to be who they are, and to use therapy to help them move toward acceptance of that reality. (This description, of course, is a simplified analysis of what can be very complex therapy)
Conversion Therapy is still with us in 2025, even though 27 states and D.C., Puerto Rico, and more than 100 municipalities have instituted bans on the therapy. However, a case—Chiles vs Salazar—is presently before the Supreme Court, challenging Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law, which bans the therapy for minors by licensed mental health professionals. The plaintiff claims the law restricts first amendment rights, and therapists should be free to engage in conversion therapy with willing clients.
Psychology and Stress 