Bringing awareness to conversion therapy

MT. PLEASANT - The Mt. Pleasant PFLAG chapter is hoping to continue to bring awareness to conversion therapy and the harm it can cause for young LGBTQ+ people.

'It all goes back to telling all kids, especially LGBT kids, that there's no reason for this prejudice, there's nothing wrong. When you say there's a conversion therapy, that really diminishes their self-respect,” Bob Mueller, president of the local chapter, said.

The practice of conversion therapy is a practice used in attempts to change a person's sexual orientation. The practice may include both physical and psychological methods.

'It's probably worse psychologically. There is physical conversion therapy with electroshock,” Mueller explained.

Conversion therapy is considered by a majority of health organizations as pseudoscientific, including the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and many others.

Many organizations have found the practice of conversion therapy poses critical health risks to members of the LGBTQ+ community that can lead to a multitude of mental health and social disorders.

Mueller was hoping to spread awareness of the issue to local community members through a forum that has since been canceled. The chapter president believes getting the word out will inspire and encourage people to reach out to legislators about passing legislation to ban conversion therapy in Iowa.

In the most recent legislative session, both the Iowa House of Representatives and Senate proposed bills addressing conversion therapy that failed to advance. Currently, 20 other states have already banned the practice.

'It gives them the feeling that they're broken and the idea that you can be fixed is not good,” Mueller added of how the practice can affect people.

The chapter president also noted the practice hearkens back to the outdated belief that homosexuality is a mental illness, which incorrectly characterizes a person's sexual orientation as something that can be changed through therapy or medication.

'By talking about banning conversion therapy, you're basically sending a message to all kids that everybody is the same. At the same time, you want to tell parents who might be considering it to reconsider,” Mueller said.

Though it may be too late for this legislative session, the hope is for constituents to encourage legislators to continue pursuing bills that will support a ban.

'Basically what they can do is, in the professions that they license that they would say, flat out, ‘Almost all professional organizations say this is not real therapy and we support that and you cannot advertise conversion therapy. Within your professional capacity you say it's a bad practice or you say nothing,'” Mueller said of how the legislative body can act.

Though there are opportunities that the legislation would simply push the issue underground, Mueller believes the wider impact would be positive. Mueller also pointed out conversion therapy affects people from across the ideological spectrum and does not discriminate.

'There are republican, democrat, independent families that are facing these situations. All it takes is getting people to write and call legislators,” he said.