Meta (Facebook) has recently updated its hateful conduct policy to allow users to call LGBTQ+ individuals mentally ill. As clinical psychologists and scientists, we must point out that identifying as LGBTQ+ is not a mental illness or disorder in any professional, clinical, or scientific framework.
Mental illnesses are diagnosed when a psychological state leads to significant impairment and distress. Identifying as LGBTQ+ does not lead to distress or impairment; rather, experiences related to discrimination and lack of acceptance (such as those allowed under this new policy) can result in distress and impairment for these individuals.
The American Psychological Association (APA) definitively states that gender identity and sexual orientation are normal variations in humans (APA, 2008; APA, 2020). Moreover, homosexuality was removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual (the DSM) in 1973, and the current DSM explicitly states that gender non-conformity is not a mental illness (and in cases of gender dysphoria, it is the distress, not the gender non-conformity that should be treated; APA, 2022).
We strongly recommend Meta change its policy and prohibit users from calling LGBTQ+ individuals mentally ill.
From,
The Society for the Science of Clinical Psychology (SSCP)
The Society for Clinical Psychology (SCP, Division 12 of APA)
The Coalition for the Advancement and Application of Clinical Science (CAAPS)
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
American Psychological Association. (2008). APA policy statements on LGBT concerns. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). APA resolution on opposing discriminatory laws, policies, and practices aimed at LGBTQ+ persons. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
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