How accepted is BDSM by therapy professionals?

[Netzach]

Say for example the patient is going into debt because he gets off on being financially dominated.

Say someone's got a contusion because he likes being caned.

 

[intothewoods]

Say someone's got a contusion because he likes being caned.

Just a bruise? I'm not advocating that someone hide the fact that they're into s&m or anything like that, but I am saying that a therapist who does not challenge or pose questions about any of the choices you make that might happen to be kink-related is not doing you any favors.

 

[Netzach]

Just a bruise? I'm not advocating that someone hide the fact that they're into s&m or anything like that, but I am saying that a therapist who does not challenge or pose questions about any of the choices you make that might happen to be kink-related is not doing you any favors.

Depends.

If you're happy enough with it, it probably won't come up in your litany of problems.

If it comes up in an offhanded way or as a mere fact and the therapist goes rogue and decides it's a problem by nature, that's not a favor.

If you think it's a problem it's a problem.

People get off on a lot of things detrimental to them. Skydiving. Driving really fast. Taking on some debt and having massive orgasms doing it is only as problematic as the pt. wants it to be. It may not be erotic to him without the edge of debt. People go into debt for NO reason every day.

 

[Etoile]

BDSM is often relationship-based, and relationships often come up in therapy. The real question is how does the therapist handle the BDSM issue in light of the relationship issue. If the therapist turns the discussion to be ABOUT kink, where kink is the CAUSE of the relationship issues, that's a problem. If the therapist incorporates kink into the discussion, acknowledges its presence but doesn't assume the problems are based on it, that's a good thing.

I fear that made no sense, anybody get it?

 

[ms_sub_liminal]

i got it and completely agree.

it's nearly impossible to avoid talking about your sexuality or relationships if you attend therapy for an extended period of time. if only because what's going on in your real life affects these things either positively or negatively. for example, you may be having financial problems so you see your SO less, or you may be going through a tough time so you cling to them more.

 

[blackdragonfly]

I actualy have a bumber sticker that I made that says "I AM the DSM-IV" I allways know when a mental health prof. is reading from them laughin so hard at how true it is for SO many people.

I have had many many theripists over the years, and was raised Catholic so that should say why its taken many years to finaly realize that as long as I'm being safe and enjoying what is going on then I'm ok with it.

I do know though, that alot of my kinks that I have are directly due to trama related issues. But my partner knows that and there have been times that I have actualy worked through some of my ptsd via bdsm.

I firmly feel that the mental health care prof. out there need to stop acusing others as "sick", "twisted" or "unhealthy" due to sexual prefrences. It has started to change a bit on that but not nearly enough.

I know this isn't really related but I am also what they like to call a "cutter" or I practice "self harm" when in a very tramatic state. The thing is that it has saved my life many times and I can not think of a reason that this is unhealthy. I don't do it for attn (cut in places ppl can't see or cover it up), I do not do it often, and when I do I clean all the cuts and take care of them until they heal. I think that this behavior is just as misunderstood as BDSM. But that's just my thoughts on it.

 

[Scott07895]

I got into the lifestyle about 4 years and had a horribly time trying to find a therapist. In fact that was the part of the reason I went back to college to become a therapist.