Conversion

When the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario revoked Dr. Melvyn Iscove's license to practise medicine in 2018, multiple news reports linked his therapeutic methods to so-called conversion therapy–a widely discredited practice.

Conversion therapy has been widely debunked as a legitimate treatment by leading psychiatric authorities, including the American Psychiatric Association. Experts emphasize that it doesn't work, and can be very harmful.

In this episode, two survivors of apparent conversion practices, who were not patients of Dr. Iscove, share their powerful stories, offering insight into the emotional and psychological toll these practices can take.

Dr. Iscove denies practising so-called conversion therapy, and the CPSO never formally accused him of it. However, during his hearing, Dr. Iscove was questioned extensively about his use of the theories of psychoanalyst Dr. Edmund Bergler, who believed homosexuality could be cured with psychiatric-psychoanalytic treatment.

So, what was Dr. Iscove doing?

The Oath examines the case of Dr. Melvyn Iscove, whose medical license was revoked in 2018 for allegedly sexually abusing two patients. When journalist Krysia Collyer first came across Dr. Iscove’s case, it seemed straightforward—until she and her co-producer, Brennan Leffler, began digging. What happened to those two patients was only part of a long, unusual story involving Iscove’s dedication to a largely forgotten 1950s psychoanalyst who believed homosexuality could be cured. The case raises serious questions about Ontario’s medical regulator: Can it be trusted to protect patients, and how does it handle potential cases of so-called “conversion therapy”?

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