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6th World Congress on
Mental Health, Psychiatry and Wellbeing
March 20-21, 2019 | New York, USA
Protecting our youth:
Conversion therapy and
institutional abuse
Samantha I. Gerson
UnBroken, USA
Institutional abuse is a national
epidemic that our country has
chosen to ignore. Many parents
send their children to residential
treatment facilities when the
child’s behavior becomes too
much for the parent to handle.
Other parents send their children
to these facilities when the child
comes out to them and they
want a quick fix to what they view
as a problem. While treatment
facilities and educational
reparative environments can be
a great resource and beneficial
to those they offer treatment
to, many cases of abuse their
power and physically, emotionally,
and sexually abuse the children
they are there to care for. This
epidemic is ongoing, and many
lawsuits have been filed, but the
abuse has not stopped. Advocates
have worked with legislation to
change laws, but this work has
not been enough. This is true of
conversion therapy as well, as it
has not been outlawed federally.
In fact, it is a common practice
in many of these facilities. The
truth about conversion therapy is
frightening and this workshop will
touch on the facts, details and all
other information to what occurs
behind Residential Facility’s
closed doors. Television and
other forms of media often make
these types of environments
look fun, friendly, and safe; but
the truth is they often result in
youth leaving with PTSD, physical
disorders, and sometimes, death
(by suicide). This workshop will
help attendees become familiar
with institutional abuse and how
they can advocate against it; in
addition to connecting survivors
to resources. This workshop will
be from a Social Work lens, and
very interactive.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EMERGENCYMENTAL HEALTH AND HUMAN RESILIENCE 2019, VOLUME 21
DOI: 10.4172/1522-4821-C2-030
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