by Laura Markowitz

About the author: Laura Markowitz is editor of In the Family,a magazine for gay people and their families, and a senior editor for the Family Therapy Networker.

Just after Chris turned 16, in 1982, his mother began to worry about his withdrawal from friends and activities. When she pressed him to talk about his feelings, he told her he was upset because he thought he was probably gay. Worried and confused, his parents spoke to the school guidance counselor, who referred them to a therapist in their small New England city who advertised himself as a specialist in “conversion therapy” (CT). For the next year, Chris went once a week to Dr. L., a licensed clinical psychologist, who told Chris and his parents during the first...