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HOW TO REPORT CONVERSION THERAPY & PROTECT YOUR FAMILY
Quick Takeaways:
Conversion therapy can be reported to state licensing boards, to your state attorney general, and to national legal help lines that assist families for free.
Your identity is usually kept confidential. Truly anonymous reports are allowed in some states, though they can be harder to investigate.
You do not need proof of everything to start. A legal help line can tell you which options fit your situation.
If your child is in immediate danger or talking about not wanting to be here, call or text 988, or reach the Trevor Project, right away.
Reporting is not a betrayal of your family or your faith. For many parents, it is the moment they chose their child.
Where can you report conversion therapy?
There is more than one door, and you can use as many as apply to your situation. Most families start with the first that fits.
State Licensing Board
Psychologists, counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists are licensed by state boards. If a licensed professional is trying to change your child, the board that granted that license is the main place to file. You can find your state's board with a quick search for "[your state] board of + the provider's profession." Complaints are put in writing, and the board reviews whether the conduct broke its rules.
Your state attorney general's consumer protection office
Charging a family for a "treatment" that does not work and causes harm can be consumer fraud. Reporting to your state attorney general opens a second path that does not depend on the provider holding a license.
A Professional Ethics Body
National associations such as the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, and the National Association of Social Workers accept ethics complaints against their members, separate from the state board.
Conversion Truth for Families
If you are not sure where to begin, you can report a provider through our own form and share as much or as little as you want. We use these reports to help families and to understand where these practices are still happening.
Local Authorities, if Your Child is in Danger
If a minor is being physically harmed, isolated, or held somewhere against their will, that is a matter for local law enforcement or child protective services, and for the emergency line 911.
What is Conversion Therapy?
To understand what counts as this practice before you file, see our plain explanation of what conversion therapy is.
Can you report conversion therapy anonymously?
In most places, your name stays confidential, but full anonymity works differently from state to state, and it is worth understanding the trade-off before you file.
Most licensing boards keep the identity of the person who files private, and will not hand your name to the provider during the early review. Some boards accept fully anonymous complaints. Many others discourage them, because a board can only act on what it can verify, and it cannot follow up with someone it cannot reach. If a case later reaches a formal hearing, the provider may have the right to know who raised the concern, the same way any accused person can face the claims against them.
The practical takeaway is simple. You can almost always report while keeping your identity out of the provider's hands, and you can decide how much to share. When you report a provider through Conversion Truth for Families, you choose how much detail to include and whether we may follow up with you.
Conversion therapy can be reported to state licensing boards, to your state attorney general, and to national legal help lines that assist families for free.
Your identity is usually kept confidential. Truly anonymous reports are allowed in some states, though they can be harder to investigate.
You do not need proof of everything to start. A legal help line can tell you which options fit your situation.
If your child is in immediate danger or talking about not wanting to be here, call or text 988, or reach the Trevor Project, right away.
Reporting is not a betrayal of your family or your faith. For many parents, it is the moment they chose their child.
What organizations can help you?
The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists is the only organization devoted to supporting LGBT Baptists and their allies in the United States.
Fortunate Families
Fortunate Families ministers primarily with Catholic parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender daughters and sons—but welcomes families of all faiths.
FreedHearts
A Christian organization supporting LGBTQ and their families deal with family, religious and community wounds.
Metropolitan Community Church
Founded in 1968 as the first church in the world with a positive ministry to the LGBT Community, Metropolitan Community Church has been a beacon of hope for decades.
The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns
The Coalition provides support and sanctuary to LGBT people, their families and friends; advocates for their full inclusion in church and society; and brings Christ’s affirming message of love and justice for all people.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
For anyone in emotional crisis, call or text 988, any time, day or night.
How do you get legal help or advocacy?
If you want to understand your rights, start with a free legal help line before you spend anything. The people who answer do this work for a living and can tell you, in plain language, what is possible where you live.
A few things are worth knowing going in. Families have recovered money they paid because charging for a service that does not work and causes harm can be treated as fraud. Where a licensed provider caused damage, malpractice and negligence claims may also apply. These paths run through the courts and are separate from a licensing complaint, so you can pursue more than one at a time.
The law here is also changing, and honest guidance matters more than a headline. In 2026, the Supreme Court held in Chiles v. Salazar that Colorado's ban on this talk therapy must meet the highest level of legal review, and it sent the case back to the lower courts rather than striking the protections down nationwide. Colorado responded by rewriting its law.
Claims like malpractice, negligence, and consumer fraud against providers were left intact. Because the details depend on your state and your situation, a legal help line is the right place to get an answer you can rely on. You can also see where the cases stand and read up on your state's law.
This page is general information, not legal advice.
A safety checklist for your family
You can use the lists below as a quick, practical guide. Print them, or keep them on your phone. Nothing here asks you to have every answer today.
Before a first appointment, ask the provider:
Are you licensed, and by which state board?
What is your goal for my child? A supportive provider helps a child cope and grow, not change who they are.
Will anything we do here try to change my child's sexual orientation or gender identity? If the answer is yes, that is conversion therapy.
Do you follow the guidance of the major medical associations on this?
What happens if my child does not change?
Warning signs a program may be conversion therapy:
It promises to change, reduce, or "heal" a child's sexual orientation or gender identity.
It treats a child's identity as an addiction, a symptom, or the result of trauma or of something a parent did wrong.
It relies on shame, secrecy, or pulling a child away from people who love them.
It pushes the family to commit or pay before answering direct questions.
It charges large sums for a promised result. No honest provider can guarantee that outcome.
What to write down and keep:
Dates, the provider's name, and the type of license they hold.
What was said and done in each session.
Any contracts, receipts, program descriptions, emails, and texts.
How your child seemed and felt afterward.
Good records make any report stronger, and they help a legal help line understand your situation quickly.
Emotional safety comes first:
If your child talks about not wanting to be here, call or text 988 before anything else.
Take pressure and secrecy out of your home. Let your child know they are safe with you.
Reconnect your child with the people and the parts of your faith community that show them love.
If you want words for that first conversation, we have written words for that first talk you can adapt.
What happens after you file a report?
Knowing the rhythm ahead can steady your nerves. It usually looks like this, though timelines vary widely by state and by office.
A board or office generally confirms it received your report within a couple of weeks. Staff then check whether the provider falls under their authority and whether the conduct, if true, would break the rules. If it clears that step, an investigator gathers information, and the provider is usually notified and given a chance to respond. Depending on what the investigation finds, the outcome can range from no action to formal discipline against the license.
You may not always be told the final result, especially if you filed anonymously. Any court claim for money or damages is a separate process from the licensing complaint, and can move on its own track.
The honest summary is that this can take time, and it is still worth doing.
Every report adds to the record that keeps other families safer.
You are not alone
If you are reading this, you are already doing the hard and loving thing, which is refusing to let anyone harm the child you were given to protect. That instinct is not a betrayal of your faith. It is faith, lived out.
Many parents carry guilt about a door they once opened, or a program they once trusted. You do not have to stay there. Protecting your child now is the thing that matters, and there are people ready to walk the next steps with you. When you are ready, you can report a provider, or simply call one of the help lines above and start with a conversation.
A path that divides your family is not the answer.
This is the beginning of one that keeps your family whole.
REPORT A CONVERSION THERAPY PROVIDER
Frequently Asked Questions
Is conversion therapy illegal?
It depends on your state and on who is providing it. More than two dozen states and the District of Columbia protect minors from these practices by licensed professionals. A 2026 Supreme Court decision, Chiles v. Salazar, held that Colorado's ban on this talk therapy must meet the highest level of legal review and sent the case back to the lower courts, rather than removing protections nationwide. Claims like malpractice and consumer fraud still apply. Because the specifics vary, a free legal help line is the best place to check your situation.
Can I report a pastor or an unlicensed church counselor?
Licensing boards only oversee licensed professionals, so an unlicensed pastor may fall outside their authority. You still have options. You can report consumer fraud to your state attorney general, ask a legal help line about your case, and, if a minor is in danger, contact local authorities. You are also welcome to share what happened through our report a provider form.
Will my child or the provider find out I reported?
Your identity is usually kept confidential during the review. If a case later reaches a formal hearing, the provider may have the right to know who filed. Some states allow fully anonymous reports, though that can make an investigation harder to complete.
How much does it cost to get help?
The help lines on this page are free. NCLR's legal help line and Lambda Legal's Help Desk cost nothing to contact, and both 988 and the Trevor Project are free and confidential.
What if we already paid for conversion therapy?
Families have recovered money they spent, because charging for a service that does not work and causes harm can be treated as fraud. A legal help line can tell you whether that path is open where you live.
Is reporting a betrayal of my faith or my family?
No. Protecting your child from harm is consistent with love, and with faith. Many parents describe the decision to report as the moment they chose their child.
Sources and Further Reading
Get help now
NCLR Born Perfect legal help line: (800) 528-6257
Lambda Legal Help Desk: (866) 542-8336, lambdalegal.org/help
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988
The Trevor Project: (866) 488-7386, text START to 678-678
The medical consensus
American Psychological Association: apa.org
Where the law stands
Chiles v. Salazar case file: scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/chiles-v-salazar
NCLR on what claims survived: nclrights.org
From Conversion Truth for Families
Report a provider: /report-a-provider
What conversion therapy is: /education/conversion-therapy-explained
The free guide for families: /free-guide