Applied behaviour analysis, the proliferation of conversion therapies, and the discipline’s struggle to self-correct

Conversion therapy has, in its various modalities, caused immeasurable harm to the LGBTQIA+ communities. Discussion begins with a review of how conversion therapy began to move behavioural science away from an objective and self-correcting science to rationalizing these practices despite science and society moving away from historic viewpoints. The historic role of behavioural treatments as applied to LGBTQIA+ subjects are reviewed, as is the degree to which these treatments were presented in journals and textbooks as relevant and methodologically valuable. As a matter of reaffirming the value of behavioural science, the field must redress past actions, take affirmative steps to stop the dissemination of these practices and begin to forge a more affirming science that benefits the LGBTQIA+ community. The review ends with a brief explanation of the relative lack of behavioural studies outlining affirming therapeutic approaches. There is also a stated need for those applying behavioural interventions to be wary of the fragility of these approaches and outcomes and to aspire to implement longer-term follow-ups.