Quick Takeaways

• A New Jersey court ruled in 2015 that advertising conversion therapy "success statistics" is consumer fraud, because there is "no factual basis" for calculating them.

• Defense witnesses called to prove conversion therapy works in Ferguson v. JONAH could not testify that they now experienced regular attraction to women. Not one.

• Kids who experience high levels of family rejection, which is how children tend to perceive conversion therapy, are 8.4 times more likely to have attempted suicide and 5.9 times more likely to report severe depression.

• Every major American medical and mental health organization has concluded that conversion therapy does not work and causes real harm.

• Christian parents deserve honest information, not a sales pitch.

The Pitch Sounds Compelling

When a child shares something unexpected about who they are attracted to or how they see themselves, the first instinct of most Christian parents is to find an answer. A solution. Something that can bring the family back to solid ground. That is not a failure of love. That is love doing exactly what it is meant to do.

Into that moment of fear, conversion therapy practitioners walk with confidence. They talk about success rates. They share testimonials. They may frame it all in scripture. For a parent who loves God and loves their child, that can sound like the answer they have been praying for.

It is not. And a court of law has already said so.

What "Success" Actually Looked Like in Court

In 2015, a New Jersey jury unanimously ruled in Ferguson v. JONAH that conversion therapy constituted consumer fraud and unconscionable business practice. The organization had marketed itself as capable of changing who clients were attracted to. When the time came to prove it, the "success stories" did not hold up.

The defense called seven men to testify about their own completed "conversion." Not one testified that he now experienced regular attraction to women. One man, who described himself as a success, admitted he was still predominantly attracted to men. Another said he no longer considered himself gay, but did not experience attraction to women at all. One juror described the decision as "cut and dried": the program was not therapy. It was consumer fraud.

Judge Peter Bariso had ruled beforehand that advertising "success statistics" in conversion therapy is itself fraudulent, because "there is no factual basis for calculating such statistics." JONAH was ordered to pay $72,400 in restitution, shut down permanently, and its founder was later fined $3.5 million after attempting to continue operating under a different name.

What does the Research Show?

Outside the courtroom, the picture is the same. Retrospective studies consistently find that the vast majority of people who went through these practices consider their experience a failure. One widely cited analysis found that only 4% of participants reported any meaningful change in who they were attracted to.

The documented harms are not marginal. According to Family Acceptance Project research, minors who experience high levels of family rejection, which is how children typically perceive conversion therapy, are 8.4 times more likely to have attempted suicide and 5.9 times more likely to report severe depression. Teens exposed to these practices are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to peers who were not.

The economic toll is staggering as well. Trauma-related healthcare costs, lost productivity, and related downstream harms are estimated to cost more than $9 billion annually in the United States, according to JAMA Pediatrics (2022).

The Mother Who Paid $4,000 for a Lie

One mother in the JONAH case paid roughly $4,000 toward her son's "treatment" and watched him struggle throughout. On the witness stand, she described the counselor as "a really good salesman" who "knew how to tell me that he had therapies that would work, that would change him." When asked why she joined the lawsuit, she was direct: "Goldberg lied. He promised me something that was so far from the truth."

That story could belong to any parent who genuinely wanted to help their child. Conversion therapy providers know how to speak to frightened parents. They know the right language. They know what a parent needs to hear. Linda Robertson, whose son Ryan died after being placed in these practices, has spent years saying something every parent considering this path deserves to hear: "Christian parents like me aren't bad parents. They're scared parents." The problem was never their love. The problem was that someone sold them a lie.

What Christian Families Deserve Instead

You can be deeply faithful and still protect your child from practices that courts have found to be fraud and medicine has found to cause harm. Those two things are not in conflict.

Faith-focused counselors and communities who walk alongside families without pressure exist. The difference between genuine pastoral support and conversion therapy is not subtle: one builds family bonds, the other fractures them. A solution that divides a family is not a solution at all.

If someone is promising you a success rate, ask them to prove it. A New Jersey court already asked that question, and the answer was that no such evidence exists.

FAQs

Does conversion therapy have a proven success rate? No. A New Jersey court ruled in 2015 that offering "success statistics" for conversion therapy is consumer fraud because "there is no factual basis for calculating such statistics." Retrospective research consistently shows the vast majority of people who went through these practices considered them a failure. Only 4% of participants in one major analysis reported any meaningful change in who they were attracted to.

Has a court ever directly ruled on conversion therapy's effectiveness? Yes. In Ferguson v. JONAH (2015), a New Jersey jury unanimously found that conversion therapy constituted consumer fraud after seven defense "success story" witnesses could not substantiate any genuine change in who they were attracted to. The organization was permanently shut down and ordered to pay restitution to victims.

What mental health risks does conversion therapy carry for kids? Research from the Family Acceptance Project shows minors who experience these practices face significantly elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts. Kids exposed to conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to peers who were not. A 2024 analysis also found significantly higher rates of PTSD and depressive symptoms among adults who had been subjected to these practices.

Why do conversion therapy providers still claim their methods work? Because fear-based marketing to parents in vulnerable moments is profitable. Conversion therapy programs can cost families thousands of dollars. Courts and researchers have both found that claimed outcomes are not supported by evidence, but the sales pitch continues because families in pain are vulnerable and some providers are willing to exploit that.

What should Christian parents look for instead of conversion therapy? Genuine faith-focused support prioritizes family relationships and a child's wellbeing over promises of change. Pastoral counselors who keep families together, rather than wedging themselves in as a replacement for the parent-child bond, offer something conversion therapy never could: an approach grounded in honesty rather than false hope.