Clinical Perspectives on Kink: Through the DSM: Depathologizing Kink

Title of Event: Clinical Perspectives on Kink: Through the DSM: Depathologizing Kink

Description of Event:

This workshop explores why kink draws people in and what it offers them psychologically, relationally, and erotically. We look at kink through a biopsychosocial lens, drawing on research that frames BDSM as a complex, often healthy form of sexual expression rather than a symptom to be explained away (Williams & Sprott, 2022). Participants will examine current findings on kink interest and behavior, including evolutionary and motivational perspectives on why some people are especially drawn to dominance, submission, or specific forms of power exchange (Larva & Rantala, 2024). We will also engage work that treats BDSM participation as a meaningful, chosen activity that can function like leisure, creativity, and intentional identity work (Prior & Williams, 2015). By the end of the workshop, attendees will be better able to articulate the diverse reasons people engage in kink, recognize the roles of desire, power, and surrender in those choices, and meet kink related material in clinical settings with more curiosity, nuance, and respect grounded in current research on kink and sexuality (Hansen Brown & Jefferson, 2022).

Date of Event: April 23, 2026

Time of Event: 9am-12pm PT/ 11am-2pm CT/ 12pm-3pm ET

Location: Online through Zoom and Recorded

Sex Therapy (ST) Training: (check all that apply)

ST2. Techniques of sex-related assessment and diagnosis of the Psychosexual Disorders described in the current edition of the DSM.

Presenter/Speaker:

Yulinda Renee Rahman, PhD in Clinical Sexology: Therapeutic Modality Creator, Program Developer, Educator, Researcher, LCPC

Contact Name: Office of CE at The Chicago School

Contact Email: officeofce@thechicagoschool.edu

Event Website: https://tcsppofficeofce.com/april_23_2026/

AASECT Approved CEs: 3.0