Validate and affirm by letting your client know that their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression are valid, as is a state of confusion about these things. Offer a non-judgmental and supportive space where they can share their experiences and feelings without fear of rejection or condemnation. Provide accurate information about conversion practices and their harmful effects. Help your client understand these practices are widely discredited by reputable mental health organisations here and internationally and are now unlawful. With consent, support your client to bring current conversion practices to a stop. They may appreciate one-on-one support in taking the following actions: • texting a conversion practices ‘mentor’ saying they no longer want to meet • throwing away books or workbooks • unsubscribing from email and online groups • writing a list of safe people and places to go for help. Support your client to think about next steps. Respect their autonomy and agency and, when they are ready, provide information on the avenues of support should they wish to pursue a pathway of redress. The Commission can support survivors to investigate the options available to them. Understand that your client may choose to switch counsellors and understand this is not a reflection on you, but rather about finding the right fit, for example some survivors may feel more comfortable with a counsellor from the LGBTQIA+, takatāpui Māori, or MVPFAFF+ Pasifika communities. Please support your client in finding a counsellor who is the best match for them, and if they are comfortable, provide a handover to facilitate the transition. Key factors to recovery Recovery from conversion practices is seldom linear and will likely continue throughout an individual’s life. Trauma-informed practice is key. Clients who have experienced conversion practices have often faced and will likely continue to face abusive relationships within their community, PTSD, major traumatic incidents and accumulated microtrauma, and the burden of repetitive coming out. Research shows crucial factors in supporting someone to recover are: 77 • access to affirming people to be “free” with whether they are practitioners or someone else (like family or friends) • allowing substantial time for recovery Conversion Practices Guidance for mental health professionals • professionals understanding their client’s faith goals • client-led reconciliation of their different identities, eg ethnicity, faith, sexuality or gender • professionals who are educated about conversion practices and the LGBTQIA+, takatāpui Māori, and MVPFAFF+ Pasifika communities • access to a variety of resources • reduced surveillance • increased control in leading changes in their lives.xxv In instances where a survivor has sought conversion practices for themselves, it is powerful to support them to see how their choices, at the time, were driven by indoctrination and compromised by lack of exposure to affirming alternatives. For more general information on working with clients in the LGBTQIA+, takatāpui Māori, and MVPFAFF+ communities, the New Zealand Psychologists Board has published a set of best practice guidelines, Working With Sex, Sexuality and Gender Diverse Clients, on their website. Also Supporting Aotearoa’s Rainbow People: A practical guide of mental health professionals is available on www. rainbowmentalhealth.com. How to report a conversion practice If or when a survivor chooses to, there are two formal pathways to report conversion practices under the law – civil and criminal. Survivors can pursue one or both, and the Commission is available to help them understand these options and provide support. Civil pathway The Commission can support survivors with a dispute resolution process. Mediation is free, confidential and protects the rights of everyone involved. A tikanga Māori-based process is also available, as are referrals to a variety of support resources and agencies. Common outcomes of dispute resolution processes are an apology, an acknowledgement of the impact of the behaviour, agreement not to do the same thing in the future, a training programme or financial compensation. If mediation is not appropriate or does not result in a satisfactory outcome an application can be made to the Office of Human Rights Proceedings for free legal assistance. Information on the complaint process in available on the Commission’s website at www.tikatangata.org.nz