Editing Conversion therapy (section)

==Effects and evaluation==
There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's [[sexual orientation]].<ref name=":0"/>

Conversion therapy can cause significant, long-term psychological harm.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Higbee |first1=Madison |last2=Wright |first2=Eric R. |last3=Roemerman |first3=Ryan M. |title=Conversion Therapy in the Southern United States: Prevalence and Experiences of the Survivors |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |date=2022 |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=612–631 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2020.1840213|pmid=33206024 |s2cid=227039714 }}</ref> This includes significantly higher rates of [[Major depressive disorder|depression]], [[substance abuse]], and other mental health issues in individuals who have undergone conversion therapy than their peers who did not,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Christensen |first=Jen |date=2022-03-08 |title=Conversion therapy is harmful to LGBTQ people and costs society as a whole, study says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/health/conversion-therapy-personal-and-financial-harm/index.html |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201070406/https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/health/conversion-therapy-personal-and-financial-harm/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> including a suicide attempt rate nearly twice that of those who did not.<ref>{{Cite web |last=thisisloyal.com |first=Loyal {{!}} |title=LGB people who have undergone conversion therapy almost twice as likely to attempt suicide |url=https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/lgb-suicide-ct-press-release/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Williams Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> 
After conversion therapy has failed to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, participants often feel increased shame that they already felt over their sexual orientation or gender identity.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=9}}

Modern-day practitioners of conversion therapy—primarily from a conservative religious viewpoint—disagree with [[evidence-based medicine]] and clinical guidance that does not view [[homosexuality]] and [[gender variance]] as unnatural or unhealthy.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=5}}<ref name=":0" /> Advocates of conversion therapy rely heavily on testimonials and retrospective self-reports as evidence of effectiveness. Studies purporting to validate the effectiveness of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity have been criticized for methodological flaws.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=7}}

According to Bailey et al., claims of successful conversion therapy rely upon self reports of success, however these are unreliable and lack objective evidence, and participants in conversion therapy "may be especially susceptible to believing and reporting that therapy has succeeded regardless of its true effectiveness". According to Bailey et al. measures of men's genital arousal patterns could provide relevant evidence to the efficacy of conversion therapy, however existing studies have not supported its effectiveness. For example, a study by [[Kurt Freund]] used penile phallometric testing and found that clients’ reported changes in sexual orientation were not supported; and research by Conrad and Wincze (1976) showed that arousal measurements also failed to support claims of success.<ref name=":022">{{Cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=J. Michael |last2=Vasey |first2=Paul L. |last3=Diamond |first3=Lisa M. |last4=Breedlove |first4=S. Marc |last5=Vilain |first5=Eric |last6=Epprecht |first6=Marc |date=25 April 2016 |title=Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science |journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest |language=en-US |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=86 |doi=10.1177/1529100616637616 |issn=1529-1006 |pmid=27113562 |doi-access=free}}</ref> According to Bailey, although individuals may choose not to act upon their sexual attractions, "there is no good evidence, however, that sexual orientation can be changed with therapy".<ref name=":022" />

In 2020, [[ILGA|ILGA World]] published a world survey and report ''[[ILGA#Curbing Deception|Curbing Deception]]'' listing consequences and life-threatening effects by associating specific public testimonies with different types of methods used to practice conversion therapies.<ref name="ILGA2020"/>

A 2022 study estimated that conversion therapy of youth in the United States cost $650.16 million annually with an additional $9.5 billion in associated costs such as increased suicide and substance abuse.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Forsythe |first1=Anna |last2=Pick |first2=Casey |last3=Tremblay |first3=Gabriel |last4=Malaviya |first4=Shreena |last5=Green |first5=Amy |last6=Sandman |first6=Karen |title=Humanistic and Economic Burden of Conversion Therapy Among LGBTQ Youths in the United States |journal=JAMA Pediatrics |date=2022 |volume=176 |issue=5 |pages=493–501 |doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0042|pmid=35254391 |pmc=8902682 |s2cid=247252995 }}</ref> Youth who undergo conversion therapy from a religious provider have more negative mental health outcomes than those who had consulted a licensed healthcare provider.{{sfn|Haldeman|2022|p=9}}

A 2022 research by [[Outright International]] found out that half the respondents surveyed from [[Kenya]], [[Nigeria]] and [[South Africa]] had undergone some form of conversion practice. Some of the forms including force and [[coercion]], which inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering.<ref>{{Cite web |title=When Conversion ‘Therapy’ Practices Amount to Torture, All African Governments Must Act {{!}} Outright International |url=https://outrightinternational.org/insights/when-conversion-therapy-practices-amount-torture-all-african-governments-must-act |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=outrightinternational.org |language=en}}</ref>