Yang Teng, a homosexual Chinese man, is suing the Chongqing Xinyu Piaoxiang clinic for causing harm to him while administrating conversion therapy aimed at turning him straight.

Teng, 30, is suing after voluntarily entering the program in Feb. under pressure from his family to conform to “traditional” family roles. In order to settle down with a wife and start a family, Teng opted to take part in the clinic’s treatment program which included therapies such as hypnosis and electroconvulsive therapy.

Conversion therapy is not a foreign concept in the United States. Aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or identity, it is a therapeutic approach that stemmed from former medical classifications of homosexuality as a mental disorder. Methods used to “treat” homosexuality are diverse and include attempts to condition the person away from finding homoerotic stimuli arousing.

Homosexuality is no longer considered a disorder in the U.S. and the American Psychological Association, along with most health care professionals, consider the practice to be harmful. In China, homosexuality has not been classified as a disorder since 2001.

For Teng, the therapy became a problem when the clinic introduced the electric shock element. According to a statement from his lawyer, proper consent procedures were not followed in the administration of the procedure. He alleges that he was not asked to sign a consent form. Other claims include a complaint that he was misinformed about the pain and risks involved in the procedure. He was told it was safe and would feel like a mosquito bite. Instead, he claims to have suffered mental and physical harm not aligned with the risks he was informed of.

Teng’s case is the first of its kind for China; the hope is that it will inspire a ban on these types of therapies. The suit asks for 14,000 yuan, or roughly $2,300, to cover traveling expenses and lost wages. Also included in the suit is the search engine company Baidu, who promoted the clinic through advertisements.

Since the ordeal, and in spite of the therapy, Teng says he has come to terms with his sexual orientation and no longer wishes to change or deny it.