Does the government have the right to interfere in personal counseling sessions?

Does the government have the right to silence counselors in their professional practice of helping people with deeply private matters, such as same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria?

View Comments (0)

Get involved in state-level prayer with IFA.

Is so-called “Conversion Therapy” Speech or Treatment?

These questions are at the very heart of the Supreme Court’s decision to take up Chiles v. Salazar – a challenge to Colorado’s ban on what is erroneously called by LGBTQ+ activists and mainstream media “conversion therapy.”

What is “Conversion Therapy”?

LGBTQ+ activists have defined homosexuality and transgenderism as an immutable characteristic in order to fit their political, cultural, and demonic agenda.

In other words, you are born that way and you can’t change. Being gay or transgender is in your genes, like your skin color. Therefore, your sexual or gender orientation is your choice and is not a sin since God made you that way. You cannot be converted, and to attempt to do so is harmful to the individual.

Same-sex attraction, gender dysphoria, and unwanted sexual behaviors can fall on believers and unbelievers alike. Yet for the Christian, these behaviors have a spiritual basis and are the result of living in a broken and fallen world.

We believe in the healing power of God through the transforming love of Jesus and with the guidance of Holy Spirit that one can be freed from sin, healed from brokenness, and restored into the abundant life and identity found in Christ. Through faithfulness to the Word of God – Scripture and Jesus – you gain the tools and the power to resist temptation and sin.

Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Yet to the LGBTQ+ activist and most liberals, discussing repentance, offering hope, biblical counseling, and prayer for healing and restoration is negatively labeled as “conversion therapy” and is illegal in many states.

Under pressure from LGBTQ+ activists, 20 states have banned this therapy. They include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

These bans go against the transformative nature of the gospel. By accepting Christ as Lord and Savior and spending time in prayer and Scripture, one can overcome any sinful desire. God is glorified in the overcoming. But today, a Christian counselor will face persecution for discussing the gospel and transformative healing in Christ to a minor child in a therapy session.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 2:17)

So-Called Medical Experts Condemn “Conversion” Therapy

Unsurprisingly, every major medical, psychiatric, and psychological organization opposes “conversion therapy.” The American Psychiatric Association says, “Efforts to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender expression have been shown to be harmful and potentially deadly.”

The American Psychological Association condemns trying to help transgender individuals sort through their gender dysphoria, saying, “Transgender or nonbinary gender identities are normal variations in human expression of gender. Attempts to force people to conform to rigid gender identities can be harmful to their mental health and well-being.”

The American Medical Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Academy of Pediatrics also oppose so-called “conversion therapy.”

Sadly, children and adults who wish to talk with a psychiatric or therapeutic professional about their same-sex attractions or gender confusion will receive no help other than affirmation of what they are feeling as good and right, and a push towards drugs and surgeries. These children will certainly receive no guidance on learning to live God’s good, holy, and perfect design for sexuality and sexual integrity.

HHS Recommends Talk Therapy

A recent report, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, called for more psychiatric therapy for gender dysphoria. They blamed this lack of psychiatric services for gender-confused children on the mischaracterization of “conversion therapy”, which has led to bans such as Colorado’s. The report also cites the numerous studies that children who do not begin a course of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones outgrow their gender dysphoria.

Perhaps having the opportunity to talk through their feelings and confusion with a therapist willing to listen and counsel them on accepting their bodies as God and nature gave them will bring them the peace they seek. But bans such as Colorado’s forbid any such counseling by licensed counselors and instead demand that only transgender medical treatments be discussed.

According to many de-transitioners, they discovered they still had the same mental health and emotional issues after transitioning as before. De-transitioners believe the medical establishment failed them by offering very little talk therapy and instead rushed them into drugs and surgeries.

A Christian Counselor Challenges Colorado’s Ban

Kaley Chiles is a Christian who seeks to live out her faith in every corner of her life. That includes her work as a licensed counselor in Colorado. Many of Kaley’s clients are Christians seeking help with their sexual attraction and gender struggles. In fact, many of her clients are referred to her by local churches.

In 2019, Colorado passed a law targeting counselors – faith-based counselors in particular. The law states that in private counseling sessions, counselors cannot say anything that would change a minor client’s gender identity. Counselors are allowed to only affirm gender identity and support gender transitioning care.

Under the Colorado ban, counselors are not allowed to have a conversation with a child to help them accept their God-given biological sex. If they did, they would face heavy fines and the threat of losing their license. That was Kaley’s choice. Be silent or be punished.

According to Kaley, clients with same sex attractions or gender confusion sought her help in order to live their lives in accordance with their faith.

Is this ban fair to the clients who come to Kaley for help? Why is the government forcing counselors to offer only one gender confusion solution –drugs and surgeries?

“Colorado’s law prohibits what’s best for these children and sends a clear message: the only option for children struggling with these issues is to give them dangerous and experimental drugs and surgery that will make them lifelong patients,” says Kristen Waggoner, CEO, President, and General Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

Kaley Chiles, represented by ADF, filed her initial case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado shortly after the ban was signed into law to prevent the law’s enforcement. She cited the violation of her freedom of speech and her right to freely exercise her religion under the First Amendment as the cause. She lost.

The District Court claimed they weren’t banning speech but considered counseling to be a “treatment” and therefore not subject to any First Amendment protection, even though the treatment was all verbal.

Kaley appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and lost there as well. The Court upheld the District Court’s decision and treated counseling as conduct, not speech. It also cited “evidence” of the harm caused by conversion therapy. No mention was made of the irreparable harm done by transgender treatments.

Supreme Court Steps In

Kaley next appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that governments “do not have a freer hand to regulate speech simply because the speaker is ‘licensed’ or giving ‘specialized advice.’”

Colorado countered that “Unlike laypersons, those who choose to practice as health professionals are required… to provide treatment to their patients consistent with their field’s standard of care.”

Currently, the only accepted medical standard of care for gender-confused minors is irreversible puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and mutilating surgeries, which leave them dependent on drugs and infertile for the rest of their lives.

The Supreme Court agreed to take her case and will decide the constitutionality of Colorado’s ban on “conversion” therapy. They will also decide if counseling sessions are speech or treatment, and whether counselors are afforded First Amendment protection of free speech.

If they decide that the state’s ban violated Kaley Chiles’ freedom of speech and was unconstitutional, every state’s ban will be null and void.

The Impact on the Country

But the Court could agree with the 10^th Circuit that counseling is treatment and not speech, and therefore states can ban certain treatments to “protect” minors, such as the Supreme Court’s recent decision in U.S. v Skrmetti to uphold Tennessee’s ban on transgender care for minors.

If the ‘conversion therapy” bans are allowed to stand, mental health professionals will find themselves in danger of losing their licenses when states can regulate treatments and practices they disagree with. These bans deny people – especially Christians – the freedom to choose the therapy that best aligns with their faith – a clear violation of the free exercise of their religion.

Chiles v. Salazar is one of the Supreme Court’s most significant cases for the new term. For if the Court frames counseling as conduct, it could open the door for states to enact laws restricting talk therapy on any topic the state disagrees with or finds politically distasteful.

It will be “wokism” run amok.

Oral arguments are scheduled for this Fall, and a decision will be handed down in June of 2026.

Let’s start praying now for wise and righteous deliberations and decisions by the Justices, for the protection of children, and for God’s gospel truth of redemption, forgiveness, and healing in Christ to prevail. IFA will keep you updated as oral arguments approach.

How are you praying about this case? Share this article to encourage others to pray!

Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.