KPACT Kink & Polyam Aware Chicago Therapists
Awareness, Professionalism, Advocacy, Compassion, Training.
You Asked, We Answered For years, KPACT therapists have used the private Google group to find referrals to other kink- and polyamory-affirming mental health practitioners but also when looking for informed and aware doctors, lawyers, massage therapists, physical therapists and others who are kink- and polyamory-affirming. KPACT therapists have wanted a professional directory where they […]
In our July 2023 workshop, “In Decolonizing Kink,” Adria Kurchina-Tyson discusses the structural, colonial nature of compulsory vanilla relationships/sexuality and demonstrate the “coloniality” of kink-phobia, reviewing the fundamental differences between Indigenous frameworks of desire/relation and those of the settler state. Adria shared some additional thoughts with us for this interview. Speaking with Adria Kurchina-Tyson How did you […]
KPACT is excited to host psychotherapist Stephen Ratcliff and dominatrix Eve Minax on April 14, 2023 for “Getting Your Kinks In: Neurodiversity and BDSM.” We asked Eve and Stephen to tell us a bit about their interest and experience with the topic. Want to learn more from these knowledgeable practitioners? Join us on Zoom on […]
Alexandra GoldOct 11, 2020 Reflecting on the Whiteness of BDSM In a 2020 academic study, the “Overwhelming Whiteness of BDSM: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Racialization in BDSM”, Kat Martinez, Associate Professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, explores “the relationship between what researchers have described as inclusive BDSM communities that continue to naturalize […]
Our May KPACT presenter, carrie sarah kaufman, shared with us a poem she wrote on the intersection of kink, healing and disability. Ihave been so conditioned to give care if i want to receive it. Tobetray myself to meet my needs.Disabled,i have heardIam a burden in every relationship. WheelchairMommy with chronic pain Iknow the power in my vulnerabilityIknow the wisdom […]
Richard Sprott discusses the Kink Practice Guidelines Project and shares his best clinical practices. by Richard Sprott, Ph.D.For many years, therapists and counselors who worked closely with the BDSM/kink communities—on the front lines of helping people who are kink-identified or practicing BDSM—have often served in relative isolation. They have honed their clinical judgments and approaches, figuring […]
Hello, my name is Jen Rafacz and I am a co-lead on the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 44 Consensual Non-monogamy Task Force working on the Inclusive Demographic Forms Campaign. I am really excited to have been asked to write about this campaign…
Eli Sheff, PhD is a sociologist and researcher who has compiled the only longitudinal study on polyamorous relationships. For over 20 years, Dr. Sheff has followed, interviewed and published her findings about polyamorous families to gain and share perspective about what polyamory looks like, and how it affects people. On July 6th, Dr. Sheff joined […]
To be mindful is to be in a state of open, nonjudgmental awareness of whatever is happening in the present moment. With its roots in Buddhism and popularized in the Western world by John Kabat-Zinn and others, mindfulness has been used to support clients in a variety of contexts as they work toward improving their mental and physical health.
by Worner Leland, MS, BCBA, of Upswing Advocates As a clinician, it is important to build competency in transgender care, but it may be difficult to know where to start. In our last blog we presented some gender-affirming clinical skills you can incorporate into your practice. Here are some additional skills to best serve your […]
by Elisabeth A. Sheff Ph.D., CASA, CSE This fifth and final blog in the series on children in polyamorous families focuses on custody. The first looked at age-dependent experiences and why the kids are in such great shape, and the second detailed some of the advantages and disadvantages in polyam family life. Third in the series […]
by Worner Leland, MS, BCBA, of Upswing Advocates Whether someone thinks a lot about their gender or has never given their gender identity much thought, everyone has a gender identity. Cisgender means: having a gender identity that matches the gender assigned to one at birth (from the Latin prefix “cis” meaning “on this side of”). […]
