Courts and justice
Licensed counselors stay barred from conversion therapy for minors
The Tenth Circuit said Colorado can treat the practice as regulated professional conduct inside its licensing system. Therapists may still criticize the ban and refer families elsewhere.
A federal appeals court left Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors in place. The panel said the state may regulate the treatment through licensing rules, even though the counseling happens through words.
- Colorado can still enforce its ban on conversion therapy for minors.
- The court treated the therapy as regulated treatment, not speech alone.
- Licensed counselors may criticize the law and refer families elsewhere.
- The decision keeps the ban in place inside Colorado’s licensing system.
- A federal appeals court in the Tenth Circuit left Colorado free to keep barring licensed mental-health professionals from providing conversion therapy to clients under 18
Colorado can keep blocking licensed mental-health professionals from offering conversion therapy to clients under 18, after the Tenth Circuit said the state may regulate the practice through its licensing rules. The Sept. 12, 2024 ruling treated the counseling as licensed treatment even though it happens through words.
For families looking for care, the practical effect is straightforward: Colorado can still tell licensed counselors and therapists that this form of treatment is off-limits for minors.
The label that decides the case
That distinction, between professional conduct and protected speech, is the center of Chiles v. Salazar. The court said the state may regulate the treatment itself, which keeps the ban in force for licensed professionals working with young clients.
The label matters because it changes the First Amendment lens. If the rule is treated as a conduct regulation, Colorado gets more room to police therapy through its licensing system. If it were treated as a speech ban, the counselors would have a much stronger constitutional argument.
What therapists can still say
The ruling does not bar counselors from criticizing the law or talking about it with families. It also leaves room for referrals elsewhere. What it keeps closed is the ability to provide conversion therapy to minors inside Colorado’s licensed mental-health system.
That leaves the broader argument about professional speech alive, but it does not reopen this door for therapists treating children. For now, the state still controls whether this form of care can be offered to minors at all.