Kink culture: What counselors need to know

BDSM is an overlapping acronym that includes bondage and discipline (BD), dominance and submission (DS), and sadism and masochism (SM). Over the past few years, kink culture and BDSM practices have become more prevalent in the mainstream culture. Kink is an umbrella term used to describe BDSM practices and paraphilias (Popp & Kaldera, 2014), kinky sex, role play, sex games, fantasies, fetishes, and other erotic expressions (Taormino, 2012). Although kink and BDSM represent exclusive terms, many individuals use them interchangeably (Taormino, 2012). The authors of this practice brief use the term kink culture to refer to the community as a whole while specifying when topics are specific to individuals who practice BDSM. Because kink culture is rarely included in counselor education programs, many professional counselors have inadequate or inaccurate information about the kink community and BDSM practices, are uncomfortable working with kink and BDSM clients, or use harmful practices that pathologize kink and BDSM practice (Ford & Hendrick, 2003; Lawrence & Love-Crowell, 2008). Experiences of countertransference that may arise in non-kink aware professional counselors include feelings of shock, fear, disgust, anxiety, or revulsion (Nichols, 2006). In one study, although 76% of mental health professionals reported treating at least one client within the kink community, only 48% felt they were competent in this area (Kelsey, Stiles, Spiller, & Diekhoff, 2013). Given that 10% of adults in the general population have engaged in some form of kink or BDSM activity (Moser & Kleinplatz, 2006), it is of paramount importance for professional counselors to become kink aware in order to provide efficacious counseling services. This practice brief was developed to support professional counselors to obtain a deeper understanding of kink culture and BDSM practices, learn about the role of consent within BDSM practices, deconstruct stigma related to kink culture and BDSM practices, obtain counseling strategies for working with clients from the kink culture, and learn how to distinguish violence from BDSM practices.