Providing Care to Clients and Patients Involved in BDSM/Kink: Interdisciplinary Approaches

Some patients and clients are involved in alternative sexualities and erotic behaviors, with some deeply involved in the leather, kink, fetish or BDSM subculture. The stigma and discrimination against people who identify as kinky or who regularly practice BDSM leads often to concealment from medical and mental healthcare professionals. The workshop will review health disparities, injuries and healthcare utilization of this population, with an emphasis on culturally competent care from an interdisciplinary healthcare approach.

• Describe at least three health disparities that characterize the kink-involved population.
• List at least three strategies for providing culturally competent care to clients and patients who are involved in kink/BDSM.

Richard A. Sprott, PhD