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
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
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 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”).
by Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D. My world and life, like many people’s, is a mix of privilege and struggle. As a cisgender woman, I have some privileges that trans women and men do not. For example, I can assume that others will use my preferred pronouns (she, her, and hers) when referencing me. As a person
by Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D. As therapists, we recognize our ethical obligations to know and acknowledge the limits of our training and skills. We know that our expertise grows over time with experience and supervision, reading, dialogue and further training. These activities contribute to our mastery of specialized areas, methods or skills. But what about cultural
by Julie Diamond, Ph.D. When I was working as a therapist, I often asked myself about the future of psychotherapy. I even wrote an article about it in 2000, called Five Predictions on the Future of Psychotherapy. In it, I said that the paternalistic doctor-patient model will be replaced by a partnership model. I wasn’t
by Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D. No one is immune from bias, not even us therapists! Everyone has bias. Therapist bias takes many forms, especially with regards to clients’ sexuality, gender, erotic orientation, etc… Bias ranges from misinformed opinions about BDSM to confusing polyamory with infidelity to other subtle perceptions, beliefs and attitudes. Bias is a part