Can Sexual Orientation Be Changed?

This paper was presented at a 2013 conference at the United Nations Church Center in New York City. The conference, “Selling the Promise of Change: International Health and Policy Consequences of Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE),” was sponsored by the NGO Committee on Human Rights and the NGO Committee on HIV/AIDS. The paper begins with a review of the history of mental health attitudes toward homosexuality from the 19th century to the present. This is followed by a discussion of how SOCE shifted from a clinical debate to a culture war issue. The paper then reviews some research issues raised by the Spitzer (2003) study, some of the problematic clinical and ethical issues raised by efforts to change sexual orientation, and concludes with a summary of the position statements of the American Psychiatric Association and American Psychological Association.