The Psychological Impact of Conversion Therapy

In this episode Matt Landsiedel interviews Dr. Lucas Wilson about the psychological impact of conversion therapy. They explore how shame and internalized homophobia are typically precursors to making someone susceptible to agreeing to do conversion therapy. Dr. Wilson shares his own personal experience with conversion therapy and how this experience has impacted his life. Both Matt and Dr. Wilson share how they have approached their own healing journey through shame and internalized homophobia and how to move through the trauma caused by conversion therapy.

These are the questions that were explored in this episode:

What is conversion therapy?
What is your personal experience with conversion therapy?
What impact did conversion therapy have on your psychology?
How is conversion therapy connected to religion?
What is affect theory and how does it relate to conversion therapy?
How can someone who has gone through conversion therapy begin to heal?

Born and raised in Toronto, Dr. Lucas Wilson is the Justice, Equity, and Transformation Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary. He holds graduate degrees from McMaster University, Vanderbilt University, and Florida Atlantic University. He has authored several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and his public-facing work has appeared in The Advocate, Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Religion Dispatches, among other venues.

Connect with Dr. Lucas Wilson: