U.S. Government Report Calls for Ban on Conversion Therapy for Minors

A government report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is calling for an end to practicing conversion or reparative therapy for LGBT minors. Reuters reports.

"Conversion therapies or other efforts to change sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression are not effective, reinforce harmful gender stereotypes and are not appropriate mental health treatments," said SAMHSA Special Expert on LGBT Affairs Elliot Kennedy.

There is no evidence to support the use of conversion therapy, and furthermore, the practice is potentially harmful, according to the report, which was developed with the help of a July 2015 panel of experts convened by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr. Jack Drescher, an expert on LGBT mental health, noted that many of the practitioners of gay conversion therapy are unlicensed, and many have religious training in lieu of medical training.

Drescher, who was not involved in the report, said it's important for people "to be informed about the potentials for harm" from conversion therapy.

Reuters noted that the report, which was released Thursday comes less than a year after the Obama administration endorsed efforts to ban the practice of conversion therapy on minors.

According to New York Magazine, in the past three years, California, New Jersey, Oregon and the District of Columbia outlawed the treatment. Bills to ban conversion therapy failed in Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland and Virginia.