“At the very beginning, I knew the fewest people. I had the least resources. But I was vulnerable because I had the biggest need.”
“I could really use an LGBTQ2S competent psychologist or psychiatrist that can fix the medical trail that wreaks havoc on my life.”
“Nothing about us without us”
“Nothing about us without us,” is a critical element of support development. Whatever resources are created, they should be developed by, with, and for survivors, with survivors being empowered and influencing what and how supports are offered. Simply put, working with survivors is important because they have the most at stake.
No matter who you are—a practitioner, service provider, family member, or a survivor of conversion practices and/or change efforts—support can be hard to find. Thankfully, there are a variety of supports available, with more being created by service providers in Canada.
We’ve compiled a list of supports and resources for you to choose from, depending on your needs. We will add more as they become available.
Know of a service or resource we should link to? Submit your suggestions.
- Helping Clients Who Believe They Need to Change
Professional Organizations who Oppose Conversion Practices - SOGIECE: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression Change Efforts
- Stop Conversion Practices Pamphlet
- Supporting Survivors of Conversion Practices
- Working with Survivors of Conversion “Therapy” Practices and Change Efforts
Training & Online Learning:
- CBRC’s Learning Course on Conversion “Therapy” Practices in Canada focuses on understanding conversion practices (in light of the federal law), and their impact on 2S/LGBTQIA+ people.
- Fondation Émergence: Training in conversion therapy intended for anyone who provides services to the LGBTQ+ population (e.g. educators and teachers, the police, health and social services professionals).
- Healing from Conversion Therapy: a three-part educational series based upon a combination of first-voice lived experiences as well as ecological social work perspectives to inform one’s clinical and advocacy practices.
Additional Resources:
- Egale Canada
- Fondation Émergence
- Wisdom 2 Action
- CT Survivors Connect—a growing Canadian, survivor-led, online support group for survivors of conversion “therapy”.
- British Columbia:
- MindMapBC: a database of affirming outpatient mental health services in BC. Includes articles on conversion therapy.
- Conversion “therapy” survivors in BC are eligible for counseling and other services through the Crime Victim Assistance Program.
- Quebec:
- Fondation Émergence
- Prévenir les thérapies de conversion : Une série de 5 vidéos créées par la Chaire de recherche sur la diversité sexuelle et la pluralité des genres de l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Only available in French.
- Brave Network is an Australia based network working towards repairing the harm caused to the LGBTIQ community and their families.
- Born Perfect is a U.S. based organization working to end conversion therapy.
- The Trevor Project is a U.S. based organization working to stop suicide among LGBTQ+ youth.
- Just As They Are: Protecting Our Children from the Harms of Conversion Therapy, Human Rights Commission and the National Centre for Lesbian Rights.
- Truth Wins Out, educates the world on the harm caused by destructive so-called “ex-gay” conversion programs, while fighting to eliminate anti-LGBTQ prejudice and discrimination.
For more resources see the Federal Law and Research sections.
Know of a service or resource we should link to? Submit your suggestions.
We encourage you to reach out to CT Survivors Connect, a growing Canadian, survivor-led, online support group and space for survivors of conversion “therapy” to connect with each other. Follow CTSC on X and Facebook.
Contact CTSC by email at c.t.survivorsconnect@gmail.com to ask how you might get involved (share your story, join monthly Zoom meetings, assist with web development, serve on the Board, etc.).
Additional Networks:
- Conversion Therapy Dropout Network is a U.S. based survivor support network.
- Brave Network is an Australia based network working towards repairing the harm caused to the LGBTIQ community and their families inflicted by religious queerphobia, non-affirming theology, and the ex-gay/ex-trans/conversion therapy movement.
If you’re experiencing conversion practices right now, we encourage you to reach out to one of the following supports for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people (listed alphabetically), or any of the resources found at Resources for Practitioners, Service Providers, Family and Friends, and Survivors.
While the following services offer mental and emotional support, we cannot guarantee that they are well informed about conversion practices and change efforts.
If you feel you or someone else is in immediate danger, or are at risk of being unsafe, call 911 or go to your local hospital for emergency support.
Black Youth Helpline
Multicultural helpline and services for children, youth, families, school boards, and youth serving organizations.
Call: 1-833-294-8650 (9am – 10pm ET)
Email: info@blackyouth.ca
Hope for Wellness Help Line
Available 24/7 to all Indigenous people across Canada (English and French). Phone support is also available upon request in: Cree, Ojibway (Anishinaabemowin), and Inuktitut (not available 24/7 – you may need to call in to find when a language-speaker is available).
Call: 1-855-242-3310
Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line
A National 24/7 hotline available to former students of Indian Residential Schools and their family members.
Call: 1-866-925-4419
Kids Help Phone
National, 24/7 e-mental health service offering free, confidential support to young people in English and French. Phone service is also offered in Ukrainian, Russian, Pashto, Dari, Mandarin and Arabic with the help of trained interpreters.
Call: 1-800-668-6868
Text CONNECT to 686868
LGBT YouthLine (Ontario)
Confidential and non-judgemental peer support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth in Ontario (aged 29 and under).
Call: 1-800-268-9688
Text: 647-694-4275
Live chat (Sunday to Friday, 4:00pm – 9:30pm ET) and other resources (7pm – midnight ET)
PFLAG Canada
Pflag Canada has a network of national chapters. Find your nearest chapter and learn what support is available in your own backyard.
Call: 1-888-530-6777
Email: info@pflagcanada.ca
RiseUp
Black youth can access dedicated wellness support for free (powered by Kids Help Phone). Phone service is also offered in Ukrainian, Russian, Pashto, Dari, Mandarin and Arabic with the help of trained interpreters.
Call: 1-800-668-6868 (24/7)
Text RISE to 686868
Chat online 7pm – 12am ET
Talk Suicide / Crisis Services Canada
Call: 1-833-456-4566 (24/7)
Text 45645 (4pm – 12am ET)
Trans Lifeline
A peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning peers, and peer support for those supporting a trans loved one. Call if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you’re not in crisis or if you’re not sure you’re trans. (English and Spanish)
Call: 1-877-330-6366 (24/7)
Wellness Together Canada
National mental health support service for adults (aged 18+)
Call: 1-866-585-0445 (24/7)
Adults: Text WELLNESS to 741741
Front Line Workers: Text FRONTLINE to 741741
What if you sincerely want to change and/or are a person of faith who is angry that conversion ‘therapy’ has been criminalized?
We recognize that there are many reasons why you may want to change or ‘fix’ your sexual or gender identity or expression. Please know that we respect you as a person and acknowledge the many pressures, fears, and beliefs that make it feel impossible for you to accept a sexual identity that is not heterosexual, or a gender identity or expression that is not in alignment with your assigned sex at birth.
We understand how anxious you might feel accessing any kind of support that is outside your community of faith or outside your comfort zone. It can be really scary to speak to someone about these things if you’ve never spoken about them before. It can also be really helpful to reach out to someone to talk through the concerns, questions, and worries you have.
You are not alone. You are in the company of many people just like you, who have been through similar experiences, struggled with similar thoughts and emotions, and found the journey to be ultimately life-giving.
Here are a few resources you may find helpful:
- Is conversion therapy ethical? A renewed discussion in the context of legal efforts to ban it, G. Andrade, M. Campo Redondo (Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, Volume 20, 2022)
- You’ll find helplines you can call or text, and much more here: For those who are struggling or currently experiencing conversion practices
Know of a service or resource we should link to? Submit your suggestions.
The following faith resources are affirming of 2S/LGBTQIA+ people. While some also oppose conversion practices, it is uncertain what support they may or may not have for survivors.
Faith Affirming Connections & Resources
Additional Resources:
- A Guide to Improving Safety in Pastoral Care with LGBTQA+ people, Jones T., Despot N., Jones T., et al. La Trobe University, Melbourne (2023)
- Can Religion Give You PTSD?, Stephanie Russell-Kraft, The New Republic, 2021
- Faith in Our Families: Talking About Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression, L. M. Rivera, L. Owen (PFLAG National, 2021)
- Faith Positions, by Human Rights Campaign Foundation (U.S. based)
- Healing Spiritual Harms: Supporting Recovery from LGBTQA+ Change and Suppression Practices, T.W. Jones, T.M, Power, et al. (The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, 2021)
- Just As They Are, A Guide to Protecting Our Youth From Conversion Therapy (Human Rights Campaign, 2017)
- Navigating LGBTQ Identities and Religion, the Trevor Project (U.S. based)
- Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice: Responding to LGBT Conversion Therapy in Australia, Jones, T, Brown, A, Carnie, L, Fletcher, G, & Leonard, W. (Melbourne: GLHV@ARCSHS and the Human Rights Law Centre, 2018).
- Religion and Faith, by Human Rights Campaign Foundation (U.S. based)
- Salaam Canada: Salaam Canada closed in 2022, but resources supporting LGBTQ Muslims will be available until 2027.
What & How
Learn more about conversion practices, the impacts and harms they cause, and how to identify them.
When & Where
Conversion practices continue to take place in Canada today. This section includes statistics on the prevalence of conversion practices, and where queer and trans people experience them.
Why & Who
Learn about the internal motivations and external factors that lead people to engage in conversion practices. Read statements from survivors themselves and link to stories about their experiences.