On Monday evening, Bloomington became the ninth Minnesota city to adopt a so-called “conversion therapy ban.” Other cities that have adopted these bans include Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Duluth, and Rochester. With Bloomington joining their ranks, that means the five largest cities in Minnesota have adopted counseling bans. These draconian bans prevent minors who are struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria from receiving counseling to help them live in accordance with their biological sex.
By policing what a licensed counselor or therapist may say to his or her clients, these bans inappropriately infringe on the relationship between mental health care providers and their clients. Under Bloomington’s ban, mental health professionals can be fined $500 for their first violation and $1000 for subsequent violations if they offer counseling that does not fall in line with the LGBT agenda.
It is not the place of elected officials to determine who gets counseling care and who doesn’t, and yet that is exactly what these bans do. These bans prevent families and individuals from pursuing and licensed professionals from offering counsel that accords with their Christian beliefs.
For young people struggling with gender dysphoria, counseling bans leave them to be ushered into social transition and medical “treatments” that carry tragic life-long effects and do not improve mental health outcomes. The vast majority of minors struggling with gender dysphoria who do not “transition” become comfortable with their biological sex by the time they reach adulthood.
Counseling ban advocates frequently point to horror stories of extreme, abusive aversion therapy tactics. No one is arguing that these unethical practices should be used, and any licensed mental health professional who attempts to utilize such methods should lose their license. Licensed mental health professionals are already held to a standard of ethics that prohibits them from using abusive methods and instances of reported abuse almost never involve licensed professionals. Bans like the one that Bloomington has voted to adopt target talk therapy from licensed mental health professionals, limiting what counselors can say and what kind of questions they can ask when their client is dealing with questions regarding their sexual identity.
All Minnesotans should be able to live out their faith without fear of being banned from receiving counseling, or prosecuted for fraud for preaching that God can change hearts!
Roughly a dozen people spoke up in opposition to the ban and in favor of counseling freedom. The city council voted 6-1 to adopt the ban.
