About Course
National political and legislative initiatives to ban so-called “conversion practices” over the last few years reveal a growing tension between symbolic politics and the lived realities of therapeutic work. A recent European Citizens’ Initiative has formally brought the topic before the European Commission. The brief talk examines how legislative efforts—often justified by reference to human rights protection—risk undermining core ethical and legal principles of patient autonomy and therapeutic freedom. It explores the conceptual and practical ambiguities surrounding the various interests involved, touching upon “patients”, minors and parental rights, and comparing recent U.S. case law (Skrmetti, Chiles v. Salazar (pending)). The talk invites counsellors and therapists to adopt a critical but constructive stance: to defend professional independence, resist both undue regulatory narrowing and culture war rhetoric, and advocate for an evidence-based approach beyond ideological narrowness.