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The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that therapists cannot be constrained by the idea of “conversion therapy.”
Brace yourself because this story is full of negatives and there is no way around it. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that therapists cannot be constrained by the idea of “conversion therapy.”
A Colorado law forbade therapists from engaging in “conversion therapy” with minors. In practice, that meant if a child said they were the opposite gender, a therapist could affirm that, but could not help the child move back toward their biological sex. That’s because the law defined “conversion” broadly to include any effort to change identity, behavior, or attraction.
This concept comes out of the gay rights era, where “conversion therapy” referred to attempts to turn gay people straight.
The thing is, some gay people actually want help changing or aligning their behavior with their beliefs. The Supreme Court now says that they can want that and talk about it. It’s not forbidden just because it may be deemed cruel or undesirable by some.
For gender identity, this matters just as much. Some therapists may believe that transitioning is not in a patient’s best interest. Under Colorado’s law, expressing that view in therapy could trigger discipline. The Supreme Court rejected that.
The Court ruled that the state cannot restrict what a licensed counselor says in talk therapy based on viewpoint, because that violates the First Amendment. It also made clear that talk therapy is speech, not medical conduct, and cannot be regulated as if it were a physical treatment.
The Court did not say that “conversion therapy” is good, effective, or advisable. It said something narrower but more fundamental: even licensed professionals retain full free speech rights, and the government cannot dictate what viewpoints they are allowed to express.
That means a therapist can now present a full range of perspectives, including the many risks of gender transition, tradeoffs, and long-term outcomes, without fear that certain viewpoints will be labeled “conversion” and punished.