Conversion Therapy

Why does ‘conversion therapy’ persist despite broad professional consensus that it is unethical? This book examines how such practices can appear legitimate and compelling amid stigma and identity dilemmas. Drawing on historical material, advocacy texts and interviews with people who experienced conversion practices in the UK, Adam Jowett traces conversion therapy from medical and psychological pathologisation to the contemporary ex-gay movement showing how advocates defend and rebrand such practices. Combining rhetorical and social identity approaches to social psychology, the book conceptualises conversion therapy as a socially organised response to identity conflict that reinforces heterosexual and cisgender norms and anti-LGBTQ stigma. It examines how these practices can reinforce the conflicts they purport to resolve and how identities are managed amid continuing stigma after disengagement. It concludes that effective responses must extend beyond prohibition to address wider social conditions sustaining conversion therapy. The book will interest students and scholars across social psychology, gender and sexuality studies, sociology, religious studies and mental health. Its analysis will also be relevant to mental health professionals, faith leaders, advocates and policymakers concerned with conversion practices and supporting LGBTQ people experiencing identity conflict.