A Virginia Victory: Court Greenlights Talk Therapy for Kids Confused About Sex and Gender

Virginia became the first southern state to outlaw so-called "conversion therapy" focused on helping children embrace their God-given gender and sexual orientation in 2020.

At a time when kids’ mental health is sinking to new lows, the law has limited their options for help by barring licensed counselors from performing “any practice or treatment” aimed at changing a minor’s sexual orientation or “gender identity.”

Now, the state is walking back that harmful policy.

A Henrico County Circuit Court judge ordered on June 24 that licensed counselors may legally provide talk-based therapy to minors to help them overcome unwanted feelings of gender dysphoria or same-sex attraction.

The change stems from a lawsuit filed last September by Founding Freedoms Law Center, the legal arm of the Family Foundation. The consent order was agreed to by the Virginia Attorney General’s office.

“This is a major victory for counselors and for children,” Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation, told Restoration News.

“Unconstitutional laws that ban any conversations counter to radical trans orthodoxy—especially conversations rooted in biological reality—they violate free speech, and they strip vulnerable minors of the right to explore alternatives that could save them from lifelong harm. Now, countless Virginia teens and their families can finally access counseling that aligns with their own goals and their faith,” she added.

‘A Monumental Victory’

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of licensed Christian counselors John and Janet Raymond, who maintain a practice in northern Virginia’s Front Royal.

The Raymonds offer counseling in an array of areas, including sexual addiction and identity issues. According to their initial complaint, they previously offered their services to both adults and minors but were forced to stop seeing the latter “almost entirely” as a precaution after the 2020 ban took effect.

As a result, the couple not only experienced a significant loss in income but a chilling effect on their speech and religious expression.

Cobb said that was likely the law’s desired effect, given Democrats’ penchant for silencing those who disagree with them.

“When the ideological Left disagrees with others on a variety of issues, the response tends to be to shut down the dialogue. And that's what's happened on this issue,” she said. 

🚨 MAJOR VICTORY: VA’s “conversion therapy” ban is effectively STRUCK DOWN!

Thanks to a lawsuit by Founding Freedoms Law Center on behalf of Christian counselors John & Janet Raymond, all VA counselors can now speak freely about gender & sexuality. pic.twitter.com/E6fXFlrbtt

— The Family Foundation of Virginia (@TFFVA) July 1, 2025

“When there are alternatives to the agenda being pushed, they seek not to suggest that their alternative is best, but rather to silence those … who would hold biblical views or principles on any number of issues.”

Twenty-two other states and the District of Columbia have similar bans in effect, according to the left-wing Movement Advancement Project. On the other hand, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, and South Carolina currently have restrictions in place blocking the enforcement of such laws.

The Virginia law, while not completely nullified by the court order, will now be unenforceable against the Raymonds and other talk therapy counselors in the state going forward.

“This is a monumental victory for all Virginia counselors, who are now no longer prevented from offering compassionate and common-sense talk therapy to minors seeking help to address unwanted sexual feelings and confusion about their identity,” the Raymonds said in a press statement.

“We are grateful to God and to the Founding Freedoms Law Center for helping to vindicate our fundamental rights of speech and religious freedom.”

(READ MORE: Dear Virginia Women: Run, Don't Walk, Away From Abigail Spanberger)