I am pleased to support Guidance Document 125-9, on the Practice of Conversion Therapy, which would protect youth under the age of 18 from so-called “conversion therapy” at the hands of licensed psychologists in Virginia. As a former educator, I have worked with many children questioning who they are and will be.  Each is vulnerable to feelings of inadequacy and confusion, especially those that feel set apart or different.

The premise of so-called “conversion therapy” is that the difference of being LGBT is something that can and should be fixed.  As opposed to being one of many components that will define the child in their world and allow them to live a true and authentic life as the person they were intended to be.  Psychology and all the helping professions, should provide a child with affirmation of their importance and uniqueness, embracing their differences as one of the many things that makes them who they are. The therapy should be about acceptance and growth to be the best citizen and individual a child can be.  So-called “conversion therapy” is anything but, condoning fear, confusion, self-loathing, and self-hatred that follows a child well into adulthood, if not all their lives. 

Please make so-called “conversion therapy” unacceptable for professional practitioners in our great Commonwealth.