MIND + BODY
THE FALSE HOPE OF
CONVERSION
THERAPY
Story by Nidia Torres | Design & Illustrations by Itzel Montoya
Hope. Freedom. Change. These are words you would hear if you were to attend a session with Hope for Wholeness; a faith-based network organization that primarily uses conversion therapy in an attempt to change a person’s LGBTQ+ identity. Former conversion therapist and founder of the organization Truth Ministry McKrae Game explains he originally founded the organization in 1999, but it was later changed to Hope for Wholeness. “Hope for Wholeness was primarily an organization trying to encourage people because so many people deal with suicidal thoughts because they have gay attractions,” says Game. “And trying to encourage them to let them know they’re not alone in that.” Game says he created Hope for Wholeness to provide people a place that would ‘help’ get rid of 58
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same sex attractions. With this therapy, Game’s focus was to reach a point in which his clients accepted themselves in a way that did not contradict their religious and personal beliefs. This process of conversion therapy is not uncommon in the U.S. and can have many dire consequences. According to The Trevor Project, an organization that advocates for the LGBTQ+ community, conversion therapy can negatively impact people and impose long-term effects that can lead to suicide, depression and cause trauma. “What we see is that it increases suicidality, and it increases depression and anxiety,” explains Cindy Bruns, director of counseling at the Student Medical and Counseling Clinic. “But that may all get pushed underground and hidden because they’re trying to be a good kid and preserve those relationships.”
