# Conversion Therapy Legitimization Fight

> CHANGED Movement pushes for conversion therapy to be recognized as legitimate mental health practice.
- Title: Conversion Therapy Legitimization Fight · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: CHANGED Movement pushes for conversion therapy to be recognized as legitimate mental health practice. CHANGED Movement seeks federal recognition for…
- Keywords: changed movement, conversion therapy, apa, exodus international, lgbtq+, religious trauma, suicide attempts, federal recognition, mental health, religious groups, news, world
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/the-new-fight-to-legitimize-conversion-therapy
- Author: Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez
- Published: 2026-10-09T10:00:03.728+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: changed movement, conversion therapy, apa, exodus international, lgbtq+, religious trauma, suicide attempts, federal recognition, mental health, religious groups, news, world
## My Conversion Therapy Experience
I spent eight years in conversion therapy trying to heal what church leaders called my core wounds.

> I did everything I was told to do, but my sexual orientation never changed
## CHANGED Movement Emerges
CHANGED Movement offers a new way forward for LGBTQ+ people seeking to leave their LGBTQ+ identity behind.

> Accepting an LGBTQ+ identity locks a person into a life of unhealed trauma
## APA Hearing Challenge
Elizabeth Woning urged the APA’s commission to withhold expansion of federal recognition for its programs.

> Counselors are being trained to affirm LGBTQ+ identities without adequately respecting clients who want to live according to different convictions
## APA Commission Suspension
The APA’s commission suspended federal recognition for one year after hearing complaints about antisemitism.

> The Department of Education has yet to make a final decision
## Conversion Therapy Risks
LGBTQ+ young people subjected to conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide.

> Peer-reviewed research published in the American Journal of Public Health found that LGBTQ+ young people subjected to conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report attempting suicide as those who had not
## Legal Challenges
CHANGED filed amicus briefs supporting a Christian counselor challenging Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors.

> The Supreme Court sided with her ruling that the ban likely violated her free speech rights
## Global Bans Grow
Canada, Germany, France, Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil have adopted bans or restrictions on conversion practices.

> The U.K. is moving toward banning the practice nationwide
## Conversion Therapy Growth
The share of LGBTQ+ young people threatened with conversion therapy doubled from 11% to 22% in one year.

> The Trevor Project found that the share of LGBTQ+ young people who reported being threatened with conversion therapy doubled in a single year
## Key takeaway

CHANGED Movement seeks federal recognition for conversion therapy as a valid mental health practice despite medical consensus it's harmful.