After a recent federal report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration called for an end to conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, survivors of the practice joined HuffPost Live last week to discuss their traumatic experiences.
Josh Sanders told host Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani about taking classes at Exodus International, a large purveyor of ex-gay therapy that was shut down in 2013. There, Sanders underwent reparative therapy, which the report from SAMHSA called dangerous and baseless.
"There are a lot of different extremes when it comes to this form of therapy as well. I've had friends that have experienced electrocution," Sanders said, who himself experienced a "gay exorcism."
"It's not like 'The Exorcist.' It's not like what you see on TV, but a very intense time of prayer, holy water, a dark room with candles," Sanders explained. "It's traumatic and so for me, I experienced religious trauma syndrome ... it's similar to PTSD, so there's triggers that I would have."
Survivors Open Up About Trauma Of Gay Conversion Therapy
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