I Survived Conversion Therapy. Here’s What It Did to Me

What does conversion therapy actually do to a person?

In this deeply personal episode of Faith in 10, Dr. Gregory S. Neal shares his experience inside a religious conversion therapy program, where he was taught to repeat the words, “I am an abomination,” until shame became inseparable from his understanding of himself and God.

Greg reflects on the lasting spiritual and emotional wounds of conversion therapy, the dangerous ways shame can be mistaken for the voice of God, and the truth that finally helped him begin to heal: he did not need to become someone else to be loved by God.

Conversion therapy promised freedom through changing who he was. The gospel offered something infinitely better: the freedom to stand before God without disguise, apology, or fear.

God’s grace is sufficient. For Greg, for us, and for you.

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Content note: This episode includes personal accounts of conversion therapy, religious trauma, and anti-LGBTQ+ language.