Conversion Practices in Eating Disorder Treatment: A Lived Experience Narrative

Abstract

Background and Aim

Conversion practices (sometimes referred to as ‘conversion therapy’) refer to interventions that aim to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. While these are often associated with faith-based settings, they can also occur in secular healthcare contexts. The practices are associated with significant psychological harm. This paper aims to provide a lived experience account of gender identity conversion practices perpetrated in the context of inpatient eating disorder (ED) treatment.

Methods

This paper provides the first author's narrative of his inpatient ED treatment as a young trans man and maps this experience to the key features aligned with accepted definitions of conversion practices and their enduring impact.

Findings

This paper describes an inpatient ED treatment experience characterised by (1) pathologisation of the first author's gender diversity; (2) the use of coercion and institutional power to enforce cisnormative developmental outcomes; (3) the persistent withholding, delaying, and problematising of gender-affirming medical care; and (4) the enduring psychological harm and extended disengagement from further treatment-seeking that results from these practices.

Discussion

This narrative highlights the urgent need to safeguard against conversion practices within inpatient mental health settings and ensure ED treatment is provided from a gender-affirming framework.