Editing Conversion therapy (section)

== Terminology ==
{{anchor|SOCE|GICE|SOGICE|SOGIECE}}
Medical professionals and activists consider "conversion therapy" a [[misnomer]], as it does not constitute a legitimate form of [[therapy]].{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}} Alternative terms include "sexual orientation change efforts" (SOCE){{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}} and "gender identity change efforts" (GICE).{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}} Together, and more commonly referred to as "sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts" (SOGICE),<ref name="FenaughtyEtAl2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Fenaughty |first1=John |last2=Tan |first2=Kyle |last3=Ker |first3=Alex |last4=Veale |first4=Jaimie |last5=Saxton |first5=Peter |last6=Alansari |first6=Mohamed |date=January 2023 |title=Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts for Young People in New Zealand: Demographics, Types of Suggesters, and Associations with Mental Health |journal=Journal of Youth and Adolescence |language=en |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=149–164 |doi=10.1007/s10964-022-01693-3 |issn=0047-2891 |pmc=9813061 |pmid=36301377}}</ref> or "sexual orientation and gender identity or expression change efforts" (SOGIECE).<ref name="ILGA2020">{{cite web |title=Curbing deception – A world survey of legal restrictions of so-called 'conversion therapies' |url=https://ilga.org/news/conversion-therapy-global-research-ilga-world/ |website=[[International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association]] |access-date=10 September 2025 |language=en-UK |date=26 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250802230953/https://ilga.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ILGA_World_Curbing_Deception_world_survey_legal_restrictions_conversion_therapy.pdf |archive-date=2 August 2025}}</ref>

According to researcher [[Douglas C. Haldeman]], SOCE and GICE should be considered together because both rest on the assumption "that gender-related behavior consistent with the individual's birth sex is [[normative]] and [[Cisgenderism|anything else is unacceptable]] and should be changed".{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=8}} The [[American Psychological Association]] stated in a 2021 resolution that some parts of SOCE also met their definition of GICE, and "intense focus" on gender-normative "conformity is a frequent characteristic of SOCE".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=February 2021 |title=APA Resolution on Gender Identity Change Efforts |url=https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-gender-identity-change-efforts.pdf |access-date=September 5, 2025 |website=American Psychological Association}}</ref>

"[[Reparative therapy]]" may refer to conversion therapy in general,{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=4}} or to [[#Reparative therapy|a subset thereof]].<ref name="Drescher1998" /> Some sources prefer the term "conversion practices" to "conversion therapy", on the grounds that the practices in question are not actually therapeutic.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-10 |title=Explainer: What are conversion practices? And why Australia needs stronger laws to combat them |url=https://www.amnesty.org.au/what-are-conversion-practices/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=Amnesty International Australia |language=en-AU |quote=To this day, these practices are commonly misrepresented in the media as 'gay conversion therapy', however, Australian survivor groups use the term 'LGBTQA+ conversion practices' to avoid associating the practices with therapy, as they are not at all therapeutic.}}</ref>

Advocates of conversion therapy do not necessarily use the term either, instead using phrases such as "healing from sexual brokenness"<ref>{{cite journal |id={{Gale|A586241649}} |last1=Lee |first1=Jin |title=Diversity or a flavor of diversity? |journal=Gateway Journalism Review |date=1 January 2019 |volume=47 |issue=352 |pages=34–35 }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Stephens |first1=John Bryant |date=1997 |title=Conflicts over homosexuality in the United Methodist Church: Testing theories of conflict analysis and resolution |id={{ProQuest|304408101}} |oclc=41964052 }}</ref> and "struggling with same-sex attraction".<ref name="CreekDunn">{{cite journal |last1=Creek |first1=S. J. |last2=Dunn |first2=Jennifer L. |title='Be Ye Transformed': The Sexual Storytelling of Ex-gay Participants |journal=Sociological Focus |date=2012 |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=306–319 |doi=10.1080/00380237.2012.712863 |jstor=41633922 |s2cid=144699323 }}</ref><ref name="ILGA2020"/>

===Evolving phraseology===
{{anchor|Phraseology|Evolving phraseology|Same-sex attraction|Same-sex attraction disorder|Same-sex attachment disorder|SSAD}}
{{anchor|Conversion therapy phraseology|phraseology|Evolving phraseology}}
A common term found throughout conversion therapy practices is "same-sex attraction" with various phrases or words connected to it.<ref name="ILGA2020"/><ref name="CreekDunn"/>

The term "same-sex attraction disorder" (SSAD), or sometimes "same-sex attachment disorder" was coined by Richard Fitzgibbon in the 1990s as a replacement for the term gay and the "ex-gay movement" and subsequently popularized in the 2000s by [[Richard A. Cohen]] who, in his book ''Coming Out Straight'', detailed the phrase and invented "diagnosis" that tried to [[Medicalisation of sexuality#Homosexuality|pathologize homosexuality]] as a condition, concluding that "Homosexuality is a Same-Sex Attachment Disorder." The term was picked up by the ex-gay movement in scripts such as "I used to be gay, but I don't think of myself as gay anymore. Now I just experience same-sex attraction."<ref>{{cite web |title=Equivocation and the Ex-Gay Script |url=https://www.centerforfaith.com/blog/equivocation-and-the-ex-gay-script |website=The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender |access-date=16 September 2025 |language=en |date=18 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smilges |first1=John |title="Healthy Sexuality": "It's not gay or bad, it's SSAD": Queerness and Masquerade |journal=Canadian Journal of Disability Studies |date=5 July 2018 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=100–122 |doi=10.15353/cjds.v7i2.426 |url=https://cjds.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cjds/article/view/426 |access-date=16 September 2025 |language=en |issn=1929-9192|doi-access=free }}</ref>

A 2020 report by [[ILGA]] tracking bans on conversion therapy worldwide explained that in many countries where "conversion therapy" has been banned, "proponents had to reshape and adapt the way in which they present and offer their 'treatment'."<ref name="ILGA2020"/> The report further explains that many proponents of "conversion therapy" try to expressly distance themselves from the term "conversion therapy" or saying they support homosexuality or gender variance and referring to their alternative terminology as being something different. The report describes this effort to "make these pseudo-scientific practices 'a constant moving target'."<ref name="ILGA2020"/>

The report listed a series of common terms used by proponents of "conversion therapy" for their "services" to provide assistance with "unwanted [[same-sex attraction]]"; promoting a "healthy sexuality", addressing "sexual brokenness"; helping clients explore their "gender confusion".<ref name="ILGA2020"/>

In 2022, the ''Global Project Against Hate and Extremism'' (GPAHE) began tracking terms related to conversion therapy online in a report titled ''Conversion Therapy Online: The Ecosystem''. 
The report documents practices, techniques and [[phraseology]] used by groups providing "conversion therapy" under various names to refer to the practice itself, as well as common phrases such as "[[same-sex attracted]]" in relation to conversion therapy targeted at LGBTQ people, in particular [[gay men]] and [[transgender people]].<ref name="GPAHE2022">{{cite web |title=Conversion Therapy Online: The Ecosystem |url=https://globalextremism.org/reports/conversion-therapy-online-the-ecosystem/ |website=Global Project Against Hate and Extremism |access-date=10 September 2025}}</ref>

In January 2024, GPAHE published an updated report for 2023, highlighting that many [[social media]] platforms and search engines are still serving a lot of content related to conversion therapy. Listing examples, using the search term "overcoming same-sex attraction" on [[YouTube]] led to results from religious and non-religious groups serving videos targeting gay and transgender people, such as videos titled "Former LGBTQers Testify: If You No Longer Want to be Gay or Transgender, You Don't Have to Be."<ref name="GPAHE2023">{{cite web |title=Conversion Therapy Online: The Ecosystem In 2023 |url=https://globalextremism.org/reports/conversion-therapy-online-the-ecosystem-in-2023/ |website=[[Global Project Against Hate and Extremism]] |date=1 January 2024|access-date=10 September 2025}}</ref>

In 2022, GPAHE also started creating an ongoing tracking project on organizations connected to the promotion of "conversion therapy" practices online titled ''Conversion Therapy Online: The Players'' to document the actors involved in these activities and show the interconnectedness.<ref name="GPAHE_players">{{cite web |title=Conversion Therapy Online: The Players |url=https://globalextremism.org/reports/conversion-therapy-online-the-players/ |website=Global Project Against Hate and Extremism |access-date=10 September 2025}}</ref> 
The report highlights some larger groups at the center of these efforts such as London-based [[International Federation for Therapeutic and Counseling Choice]] (IFTCC), chaired by Mike Davidson, founder of related [[Core Issues Trust]] (CIT) and several other organizations involved. IFTCC has been hosting annual conferences since its inception in 2015 with the purpose to connect individuals "seeking help with 'same-sex attraction' and 'gender confusion'" with therapists.<ref name="GPAHE_players"/>