Editing Conversion therapy (section)

===Reparative therapy===

The term "reparative therapy" has been used as a synonym for conversion therapy generally, but according to [[Jack Drescher]] it properly refers to a specific kind of therapy{{clarify|date=July 2022}} associated with the psychologists [[Elizabeth Moberly]] and [[Joseph Nicolosi]].<ref name="Drescher1998">{{Harvnb|Drescher|2000|p=152}}</ref>  
For example, he wrote: 
:. . . the pursuit of fulfillment through same-sex eroticism is spurred by the fearful anticipation that their masculine self-assertion will inevitably fail and result in humiliation.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nicolosi |first=Joseph |title=The Traumatic Foundation of Male Homosexuality|
url=https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/traumatic-foundation-male-homosexuality}}</ref>

The term ''reparative'' refers to Nicolosi's postulate that same-sex attraction is a person's unconscious attempt to "self-repair" feelings of inferiority.<ref name="Hicks_1999">{{cite journal |last1=Hicks |first1=Karolyn A. |title='Reparative' Therapy: Whether Parental Attempts to Change a Child's Sexual Orientation Can Legally Constitute Child Abuse |journal=American University Law Review |volume=49 |issue=2 |date=December 1999 |pages=505–547 |url=https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/aulr/vol49/iss2/4/ |access-date=10 June 2023 |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924070611/https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/aulr/vol49/iss2/4/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bright">{{Harvnb|Bright|2004|pp=471–481}}</ref>

After California banned conversion practices, Nicolosi argued that "reparative therapy" didn't attempt to directly change sexual orientation but instead encourage exploration into its underlying causes, which he believed was often childhood trauma.<ref name="ashley_202209" />