Conversion therapy, sometimes known as reparative therapy, targets LGBTQ+ people and seeks to change their sexual or gender identities.Conversion therapy has been shown to be harmful and has been categorically rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization for years. However, due to continued societal bias against queer people, some practitioners continue to use conversion therapy. Young people are particularly vulnerable to its harmful effects, which include increases in depression, anxiety, risky drug use, homelessness, and suicide. On today’s episode of In the Den, guest host Dawn Sparling talks with historian Seth Anderson about the history and consequences of conversion therapy and how to fight against it today.
Special Guest: Seth Anderson
J. Seth Anderson, PhD, was born in Provo, Utah, and raised in Utah and Arizona. He served a mission in the Russia, Samara mission. He earned a BA in Russian and a BS in Economics from Arizona State University, an MA in History from the University of Utah, and a PhD in History from Boston University. His dissertation explores the origin of gay conversion therapy. (He claims to be working on the book proposal, but that's debatable.) He likes to play piano and go to the gym. He and his husband Dr. Michael Ferguson, were the first same-sex couple married in Utah in 2013.
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