04/02/2026
The Supreme Court may have ruled yesterday that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy violates the First Amendment, but no court can rewrite our ethics. While the decision may create legal uncertainty, it does not change the reality that conversion “therapy” is a harmful, discredited practice that violates the core values of social work and puts LGBTQ+ youth at risk. Let’s be clear: calling this “therapy” is itself misleading. This is not treatment. It is coercion, shame, and psychological harm packaged in clinical language that co-opts our practice as mental health professionals. Many Ohio cities have already recognized this and banned the practice because communities know what the evidence shows; this is abuse, not care. And while the Court chose to frame this as “speech,” licensed professionals in Ohio are still accountable to professional ethics, standards of care, and licensing board oversight. If a social worker engaged in this practice, it should absolutely be reported to the licensing board, and avenues of malpractice and consumer fraud claims are still available to anyone impact by this practice. The Supreme Court may have spoken on constitutionality, but it did not change what is ethical. It did not change what is evidence-based. And it certainly did not change our responsibility to protect LGBTQ+ youth from brainwashing, coercion, and harm.
