Additional Information

• • Target audience

    • This course is intended for psychologists, counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and other mental health and related professionals. 

  • Instruction level - Intermediate

    • It is expected that participants will have basic knowledge of the topic. Less than 25% of the presentation will review knowledge provided in an introductory workshop in this topic area. The remaining time will focus on advanced topics such as new research, specialty topics not typically covered in graduate education, or specific clinical applications. 

  • Recommended Prerequisite

    • Consent as Foundation - Understanding Sexual, Gender & Relationship Diversity

      • This course serves as a foundation for all the courses in this seried on SGRD. 
        
        

  • Full description

This foundational workshop provides clinicians with an evidence-informed framework for understanding consensual kink, BDSM, and consensual power exchange (CPE) as common, non-pathological forms of erotic and relational expression. While power, intensity, and physical sensation may be present in these relationships, this program emphasizes that consensual kink is not inherently indicative of psychopathology or abuse. Drawing on APA practice guidelines, DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnostic frameworks, and contemporary GSERD/GSRD scholarship, the workshop supports clinicians in reducing bias, avoiding premature pathologization, and providing ethically grounded, culturally responsive care to sexually marginalized populations.

Participants begin by reviewing foundational definitions of kink, BDSM, and consensual power exchange, alongside broader discussions of sexual, gender, and relational diversity. The program examines how cultural norms and socialization around sex, gender, and relationships shape both client experiences and clinician interpretations, with particular attention to distinguishing population-level diversity from mental disorder. Emphasis is placed on understanding power as a feature of all relationships—sometimes implicit, sometimes intentionally negotiated—rather than as evidence of harm or dysfunction.

Building on this foundation, the workshop introduces core principles of consent as they are understood within kink communities, including the role of communication, negotiation, and shared meaning. Rather than focusing on clinical assessment or risk determination, the course explores how consent is conceptualized, discussed, and culturally contextualized, and how misunderstandings about consent contribute to stigma and misdiagnosis. Conceptual distinctions between consensual BDSM and intimate partner violence (IPV) are reviewed at a high level to clarify why these experiences are not interchangeable, while deferring detailed assessment, safety evaluation, and ethical decision-making to later clinical training.

A significant portion of the program focuses on clinician self-reflection and professional orientation, including examination of therapist positionality, common forms of “kink-phobia,” and subtle microaggressions that may arise in therapeutic settings. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their own assumptions, discomfort, or gaps in knowledge, and to consider how these factors may enter the therapy room. The workshop also addresses best practices for responding to client disclosures of kink or BDSM in ways that are respectful, nonjudgmental, and consistent with ethical scope of competence, without unnecessary escalation or pathologizing responses.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have increased foundational literacy regarding kink and consensual power exchange, a clearer understanding of professional guidelines related to sexually marginalized populations, and greater awareness of how cultural stigma and clinician bias can influence therapeutic interactions. This course prepares clinicians to engage with erotic diversity thoughtfully and ethically, while establishing a foundation for more advanced clinical training focused on assessment, consent violations, and safety considerations.

• • Presenter 

    • Dr. Rachel Anne Kieran (Psy.D.) is a psychologist, writer, and educator, and the founder of StorieBrook Therapy & Consulting, LLC, an affirming therapy practice rooted in justice, community, and cultural humility. Her clinical work focuses on sexual, gender, and relational diversity (including kink and consensual non-monogamy), neurodiversity, fat and disability justice, and clients from non-majority spiritual and pagan paths.

Dr. Kieran’s practice model emphasizes accessible, bespoke collaboration with clients, including sliding-scale options and a community space designed to be welcoming, trauma-aware, and identity-affirming. Through StorieTree Professional Education, she creates continuing education programs for mental health and allied professionals that center ethics, intersectionality, and dismantling systemic barriers to care.

Her current writing projects include a book on finding and crafting mental healthcare for diverse spiritualities, and related work on “rainbow sheep” identities—those who never fully fit either mainstream or countercultural norms. Across her roles as therapist, educator, and author, Dr. Kieran is committed to the belief that affirming care is a right, not a privilege.

• • Learning objectives

    • After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

      • Discuss ways of understanding power differentials in relationships, including both inherent and intentionally negotiated forms, and reflect on how these dynamics may be experienced as helpful or harmful within therapy without presuming pathology.

      • ·Describe key calls to action from APA guidelines relevant to ethical and affirming practice with sexually marginalized populations, including those who engage in kink or consensual power exchange.

      • Discuss foundational approaches to consent in sexually marginalized populations, with attention to how consent is conceptualized, communicated, and influenced by social and cultural context.

      • Explain conceptual distinctions between BDSM (bondage/discipline, Dominance/submission, sadism/masochism) and intimate partner violence (IPV), emphasizing intent, consent, and subjective experience rather than clinical determination.

      • Reflect on their own attitudes or “kink-phobia,” how these may enter the therapy room, and how clinician bias may shape responses to client disclosures. 
        
        

  • Agenda / structure

    • • Welcome, Framing, & Scope Setting — 10 minutes

      •  Working Definitions & Conceptual Grounding — 15 minutes

        • Sexual, gender, and relational diversity refresher

        •  Population vs. pathology framework

        •  Centrality of consent as an organizing principle

      • What Is Kink? (and who and where?) BDSM & Consensual Power Exchange — 65 minutes

        • Defining kink, BDSM, and consensual power exchange (~20 min)

        •   Kink Is Common: Prevalence & Cultural Context (~20 min)

        •   Kink as a Spectrum & Intersectional Experience (~20 min)

      • Research & Depathologization — 25 minutes

        •  Psychological functioning of BDSM participants

        •   Flow states, emotion regulation, empowerment

        •   Kink ≠ fetishistic or paraphilic disorder

        • Diagnostic frameworks and depathologization trends

      •  Professional Guidelines & Ethical Orientation — 15 minutes

        •  Implications for affirming, ethical practice

        •  Scope of competence at the Foundations level

      •  Clinician Bias, Kink-Phobia, & Microaggressions — 20 minutes

        •  Common sources of over-pathologization

        •  “The ew face” and subtle clinical harms

        • Therapist discomfort vs. client distress

        •  Self-reflection and humility as ethical practice

      • Responding to Disclosure Without Pathologizing — 15 minutes

        • What clients often need when disclosing kink

        •  Language that supports curiosity and respect

        • Avoiding unnecessary risk escalation

      • Integration, Reflection, & Bridge to Future Learning — 15 minutes

        •  How stigma shapes clinical interpretation

        • Closing reflections and questions
          
          

  • CE information

    • • This is a live program. Full attendance is required to receive a certificate of completion. Certificates of completion will be issued following verified attendance.

      • This program has been approved for CE by the Georgia Psychological Association.  

        • Acceptance of continuing education credit is determined by individual licensing boards. 

          • The Georgia State Board of Examiners of Psychologists accepts GPA-approved CEs for license renewal under Area III for renewal of their licensees. For information on the board requirements in other states, please consult your state licensing rules.

          • The Georgia Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage & Family Therapists accepts GPA-approved CEs for license renewal as related hours for renewal of their licensees (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(f)(1)).  For information on the board requirements in other states, please consult your state licensing rules.  

      • StorieTree Professional Education has submitted an application for APA Sponsor Approval and is currently in the review process. All StorieTree programs are developed in alignment with the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and the APA Standards for Continuing Education Sponsors.
        
        

  • Pricing & accessibility notes

    • Standard Price - $90

    • For more information on equity pricing for accessibility, please read the StorieTree Pricing & Equity Policy

    • For more information on StorieTree's ongoing accessibility efforts, please visit our Accessibility page.  

  • Cancellation/refunds - please see the StorieTree Attendance, Participation & Refunds Policy

  • Disclosures - please read the StorieTree Disclosure Policies for more information