{"id":255565,"date":"2026-04-18T09:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/255565\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T09:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:55:20","slug":"can-protecting-conversion-therapy-help-texas-lgtbq-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/255565\/","title":{"rendered":"Can protecting conversion therapy help Texas LGTBQ+ therapy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy<\/a>, and give us feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The U.S Supreme Court has ruled against states\u2019 ability to ban licensed mental health providers from providing conversion therapy on the grounds that it violates free speech. <\/p>\n

In a twist of fate, national LGBTQ+ advocates and law experts say the decision proves Texas can\u2019t ban gender affirming care from the therapy room, but local mental health providers are pessimistic.<\/p>\n

Last month, an 8-1 court sided with Kaley Chiles<\/a>, a licensed professional Christian counselor in Colorado Springs, who argued her state\u2019s ban on conversion therapy, a controversial treatment aimed at changing a LGBTQ+ minor\u2019s sexual orientation or gender identity, violated her right to free speech. The justices ruled the Colorado law censors the speech of mental health providers and that the First Amendment prohibits states<\/a> from limiting the topics licensed therapists can discuss with their clients. <\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ advocates and legal experts say this ruling means any treatment that licensed mental health providers in Texas give to clients that affirms their gender identities is constitutionally protected free speech. The high court\u2019s decision runs counter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a>\u2019s recent opinion that licensed Texas therapists can\u2019t provide gender-affirming care to LGBTQ+ youth clients, advocates and experts say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Supreme Court sets this precedent that what happens in a therapist\u2019s office is sort of per se protected First Amendment speech, then I think we have to take them at their word and say, \u2018Okay, well then that applies to all regardless of ideological implications,\u2019\u201d said Shawn Meerkamper, a managing attorney for the California-based Transgender Law Center<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Texas mental health providers say in theory, the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling should protect gender-affirming therapy for LGBTQ+ people, too, but gender-affirming care providers don\u2019t trust Republican lawmakers and the conservative Supreme Court to apply free speech principles equally. They fear the state will investigate and villainize licensed therapists who provide gender-affirming care while allowing conversion therapy to proliferate without fear of regulations. Texas has 104 conversion therapy providers<\/a>, the second highest number in the country, according to the Trevor Project<\/a>, the largest suicide and crisis prevention organization for LGBTQ youth.<\/p>\n

While the state hasn\u2019t made any attempts to ban conversion therapy, which all major health associations in the country, including the American Medical Association<\/a>, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry<\/a> and American Psychiatric Association<\/a>, have panned as harmful, Texas has blocked gender-affirming care, <\/a>which those same groups have supported as evidence-based care. <\/a><\/p>\n

Gender-affirming health care<\/a> is a range of services that help align a person\u2019s physical and mental characteristics with their preferred gender identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf speech in the therapy room is completely unregulated and states are not allowed to step in, then where does it stop? If a therapist is a white nationalist, are they allowed to say certain things in that room about other races? Where is the limit?\u201d said Johnathan Gooch, deputy director for public affairs for Equality Texas. <\/p>\n

Can the ruling help LGBTQ+ therapy? <\/p>\n

Chiles, with support<\/a> from President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, argued a ban on conversion therapy is an unfair restriction on faith-based practices in mental health. <\/p>\n

She said allowing states to ban conversion therapy permits interfering in all conversations between providers and their clients, including, for example, prohibiting doctors from discussing birth control or counselors from encouraging or discouraging divorce. <\/p>\n

Various religious organizations, such as the Catholic Medical Association<\/a>, applauded the Supreme Court\u2019s decision siding with Chiles, saying it allows for the \u201cfree exchange of ideas\u201d in mental health. <\/p>\n

Steven D. Schwinn, a professor of law at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School, who has analyzed Supreme Court decisions over the past few years, said the ruling on conversion therapy is the latest example of the country\u2019s highest court using the First Amendment to push a conservative policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Court has recently championed religious freedom under the guise of free speech,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Meerkamper said the silver lining of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision is that it takes away from states like Texas the ability to ban LGBTQ+-friendly treatments, such as gender-affirming care, because free speech protections apply across the board. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf the act of therapy and engaging in therapy is considered free speech, then it\u2019s certainly hard to see how a prohibition on conversion therapy survives,\u201d they said. \u201cBut on the other side of the coin is that if that doesn\u2019t survive, then how can prohibitions on gender-affirming health care services survive?\u201d <\/p>\n

Mental health professionals who provide gender-affirming care defend their field as legitimate health care that helps a population vulnerable to some of the most serious mental illnesses. Providers often help diagnose and recommend treatment to adults and minors with gender dysphoria<\/a>, a psychological diagnosis widely accepted in the medical and mental health communities for someone whose gender identity doesn\u2019t match their gender assigned at birth. The treatment can include depression and anxiety, assessments for readiness for hormone therapy or surgeries, and support for families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not pass judgment and that we provide care that is evidence-based and ethical, and we try to reduce harm,\u201d said Michael Lesher, director of the Texas Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities<\/a>. \u201cWe are supposed to provide client-centered care that\u2019s not coercing our clients into anything that is going to be harmful to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gender affirming care providers in Texas say that while the Supreme Court has ruled to protect conversion therapy, history proves it won\u2019t do the same for LGBTQ+ treatments. <\/p>\n

The Supreme Court ruled last year<\/a> that states have a right to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors, like puberty blockers and hormones, because the state has a right to protect children, despite multiple medical studies citing its usefulness. Texas banned gender-affirming care<\/a> for minors in 2023. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs an affirming therapist in this state, I work to undo the harm conversion therapy perpetrates every single day. So with this ruling? I\u2019m worried we\u2019ll see an increase in the availability of conversion therapy, and I\u2019m worried about the precedent it sets going forward,\u201d said Abi Smith, a licensed professional counselor for Southlake-based AltNarratives LLC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Conversion therapy proliferation<\/p>\n

When Guy Felder came out in the 1990s as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, his parents promptly placed him in a conversion therapy program. The unlicensed counselor often told his parents and members of his religious community about their sessions, and the entire experience, which lasted a year until he turned 18, did permanent damage to the relationship with his family. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe theory in conversion therapy<\/a> is that the cause of homosexuality is a dysfunctional relationship with a parental figure. They kept telling my dad he was in some way responsible for me living my life as a gay man,\u201d said Felder, who is now a Houston-based licensed professional counselor associate, providing LGBTQ+ mental health treatment. <\/p>\n

Conversion therapy attempts to change an individual\u2019s sexual orientation or gender to heterosexual or cisgender norms. The most common way to achieve this is through talk therapy, but some extreme methods include shame-based practices, religious-based treatments, and aversion therapy. <\/p>\n

Twenty seven states have laws that either restrict or prohibit licensed professionals from practicing conversion therapy on minors, but Texas isn\u2019t one of them. The Trevor Project identified more than 1,320 conversion therapy providers across 48 states, with Pennsylvania having the most. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them went underground, but they never went away,\u201d Felder said about the recent restrictions on conversion therapies. <\/p>\n

The Texas Tribune contacted multiple conversion therapists in Texas to discuss their reactions to the recent Supreme Court ruling, but they did not respond. <\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ advocates are concerned that with Texas already not regulating conversion therapy, the recent ruling by the Supreme Court will turn the state into a breeding ground for this kind of treatment. <\/p>\n

\u201cAround 15% of LGBTQ+ youth, according to the Trevor Project, cited fear of conversion therapy as a reason not to seek out mental health support,\u201d said Rox Sayde, community support and operations manager for Equality Texas, adding that many conversion therapists in Texas hide under the guise of LGBTQ+ friendly care. <\/p>\n

By protecting conversion therapy, the Supreme Court ruling delegitimizes therapy as a valid medical treatment, according to some mental health providers. <\/p>\n

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the lone dissenting voice, wrote that the decision made by her fellow justices \u201copens a dangerous can of worms\u201d because it will impair the state\u2019s ability to regulate the mental health profession.<\/p>\n

Studies have shown that conversion therapy can cause harm \u2014 and if a state can\u2019t regulate it, what therapy can the state regulate, LGBTQ advocates question. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy take on the ruling is that it fundamentally misunderstands what therapy is,\u201d Gooch said. \u201cWords, in this case, are a tool that is used to treat a patient, which is a different type of relationship. The court is now saying speaking to a client is essentially the same as someone just giving their gut instinct reaction to a friend seeking advice.\u201d <\/p>\n

For mental health support for LGBTQ youth, call the Trevor Project\u2019s 24\/7\u00a0toll-free support line<\/a>\u00a0at 866-488-7386. For trans peer support, call the\u00a0Trans Lifeline<\/a>\u00a0at 877-565-8860. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the\u00a0Suicide and Crisis Lifeline<\/a>\u00a0by calling or texting 988.<\/p>\n

Disclosure: Equality Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1967,2125,27,29,28,6748],"class_list":{"0":"post-255565","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-ken-paxton","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-texas-headlines","12":"tag-texas-news","13":"tag-well-b-homepage"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}