Course Description

Over the past several years, people have become increasingly curious and aware of BDSM, kink, and leather. Nevertheless, members of these communities are often stigmatized and misunderstood, including in psychotherapeutic settings. This introductory-level course is designed to help licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals become more competent in working with BDSM, kink, and leather communities. Areas of focus will include definitions and prevalence rates, psychological well-being within these populations, safety considerations, perinatal considerations, and clinical considerations.

The intended audience for this course is mental health professionals and trainees who are completely new to BDSM, kink, and leather communities. Your instructor knows how intimidating it can be to learn a topic that you're unfamiliar with and that this can be even more pronounced if the topic is stigmatized. Therefore, Dr. Holmes aims to create a fun, inviting, and interactive learning experience. So bring your curiosity and questions!


This course utilizes recordings from a live version of this workshop held in 2024.

This course takes place live on Zoom. Check out this link for Zoom requirements.

For more information on our work at The Touchstone Institute, visit our website.

Course Overview

  • Asynchronous Workshop on Zoom

  • Prerequisites

    This training is open to all mental health professionals.

  • CE Credits

    Participants are eligible to receive 5 CE credits for this training. (see more details below)

Note on Accessibility:

We include captions in all of our live and self-paced trainings. If there is anything else you need to make our trainings accessible to you, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We recognize that every person has access needs and we are happy to do everything we can to meet yours.
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Instructor

Lana Holmes, Psy.D.

Dr. Lana Holmes is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist based in the metro Atlanta area. She's passionate about providing therapy that welcomes and celebrates marginalized, oppressed, and stigmatized communities. Her areas of clinical interest and expertise include: the intersection between mental health and spirituality, issues pertaining to bdsm, kink, and ethical non-monogamy; issues pertaining to BIPOC individuals, issues pertaining to LGBTQIA2S+ folx, trauma across the lifespan, life transitions, anxiety disorders, and depressive disorders.

Tiered pricing options for Day 1:

Questions? See our FAQ below.

More about our pricing:

We offer tiered pricing for all of our trainings in order to make our courses accessible to as many practitioners as possible. If you are unsure which tier of payment is right for your financial situation, please read through our FAQ section below or visit our website.


Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you are interested in a multi-month payment plan. We are always happy to create a custom payment plan to make it more feasible for everyone to participate in our courses. 

Course curriculum

    1. Course Description and Welcome

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Get to know Dr. Holmes!

    3. Course Agenda

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. Learning Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Anti-Oppression Statement from The Touchstone Institute

    1. Training Slides for Download

    2. Training Slides

    3. Course lecture recording

    4. Course Quiz

    1. Receiving your CE Certificate

    2. Course Evaluation

    3. CE Certificate Request Form

About this course

  • $150 - $325
  • On-Demand
  • 5 CEs, see below for specific approvals

Timed Course Outline

30 minutes: Introduction

  • Introduction
  • Purpose of the training
  • Overview and disclaimer
  • Why you should care about kink, BDSM, and leather communities.
  • Question: When did you first become aware of kink, BDSM, and leather communities?


50 minutes: Definitions, Demographics, and Prevalence Rates

  • Definitions and Prevalence Rates
  • Definitions of kink, BDSM, and leather
  • Details of practices and dynamics
  • Pop culture pop quizzes
  • Wonder Woman
  • Betty Page
  • Prevalence rates and demographics
  • Cultural considerations 


15 minutes: Questions


15 minutes: Break

 

50 minutes: Psychological Functioning

  • Psychological Health
  • Stigmatization in the DSM and how that has changed
  • Social/cultural biases
  • Data on psychological well-being
  • Typical needs in treatment
  • Case examples 


15 minutes: Questions


50 minutes: Safety Frameworks and Concerns

  • Safety
  • Kink, BDSM, and leather vs. abuse 
  • Consent models
  • Preventing injury 
  • Aftercare
  • Perinatal considerations 
  • Case examples


15 minutes: Questions


30 minutes: Break


50 minutes: Clinical Issues

  • Clinical Considerations
  • Cultural competence
  • Understanding that kink, BDSM, and leather communities are stigmatized subcultures. They have their own unique histories, lineages, traditions, customs, and ways of evaluating all of the above.
  • Examining clinicians’ biases, prejudices, and squicks
  • Ongoing education 
  • Empirical literature, training, supervision, and consultation
  • Looking at the works, experiences, and education being provided by people within kink, BDSM, and leather.
  • Final questions and resources

 

20 minutes: Questions

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Define BDSM, kink, leather and other pertinent terms.


  • Identify the prevalence rates for BDSM, kink, and/or leather practices/practitioners.


  • Determine what the empirical literature states about the psychological well-being of BDSM, kink, and leather practitioners.


  • Name at least 3 consent models/frameworks


  • Distinguish the difference between abuse and BDSM, kink, and leather practices.


  • Understand at least 3 typical needs of kinksters within treatment 

Continuing Education Credits

Participation in all training sessions and submission of a course evaluation is required to receive a CE Certificate for this course. Course evaluations are made available after all live sessions have been completed within the course portal. After completing the evaluation, participants will be able to download their CE certificates. This training offers 5 CE credits.

  • It is your responsibility to verify CE coverage in your State or Province.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7346. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, [provider number:1876], is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: [1/19/2024-1/19/2025]. Social workers completing this course receive 5 continuing education credits.

  • This course is approved by Postpartum Support International (PSI) for continuing education towards maintaining the PMH-C.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is the Generative Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Own the home you live in (even with a mortgage); live in a two-income household; have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money; travel recreationally; have access to family money and resources in times of need; work part-time by choice, etc.

  • Is the Sustaining Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Have income available for recreational activities (going out to dinner, movies, concerts etc.); have consistent work compensated at a median income rate based on your region; pay rent that is not more than 25% of your monthly household income; do not own your own home, etc.

  • Is the Supported Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Are a graduate student paying tuition; have major medical expenses not covered by insurance; have been denied work, or experience discrimination related to ableism, racism, sexism, gender discrimination or other forms of oppression; are eligible for public assistance; have immigration-related expenses; have ever been denied work due to incarceration history; are supporting adult children, extended family members in need or have other adult dependents; are an elder with limited financial support; are primarily working in a setting with under-resourced populations and your income reflects this work, etc.

  • Are there payment plan options available?

    Yes! We are happy to work with you to create a payment plan that fits your needs. Please reach out to us over email with a brief description of the length of the plan that you are interested in using to pay for this course: [email protected].

  • How can I learn more about your pricing?

    Please visit our website for more information on our approach to pricing our trainings: www.touchstoneinstitute.org/pricing.

  • What is your refund policy?

    More than 14 days notice is required for a full refund minus 7% administrative fee. Cancellations made within 14 days of training are eligible for a 50% refund or full transfer to another training within The Touchstone Institute. Only 1 transfer to another training is allowed. If you can not attend the transferred training your fee will be forfeited. No-shows are not eligible for a refund or transfer. Exceptions to this policy are limited to medically documented circumstances or family bereavements. Failure to attend without prior notification (no-shows) will not qualify for a refund.

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