COUNSELLORS’ REFLECTIONS ON HARM IN BDSM PAIN PLAY: CONTAINING AND MAINTAINING CLIENTS

Abstract

People who participate in BDSM (bondage/discipline, Dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism) activities have reported some instances of stigmatization and ethical violations from mental health care providers (e.g., Bezrreh, Weinberg & Edgar, 2012; Kolmes, Stock, & Moser, 2006). However, the literature pertaining to counsellor’s understandings of clients who participate in BDSM is limited to a handful of studies (e.g., Garrott, 2008; Kelsey, Stiles, Spiller, & Diekhoff, 2013; Kolmes, et al., 2006; Lawrence & Love-Crowell, 2008). Given the potential for ethical violations, such as breach of confidentiality (Canadian Psychological Association [CPA], 2017), when kink play is interpreted as bodily harm (Garrott, 2008) this topic warrants more attention. From the few studies investigating counsellors’ views of BDSM-oriented clients, pain play has surfaced as one particular area of contention (Garrott, 2008). However, it has not been explored sufficiently due to both a general lack of inquiry specific to pain play and a reluctance of participants to discuss this sensitive topic in-depth (Garrott, 2008). This research examined how counsellors understood harm (CPA, 2017) in need of therapeutic remediation as well as serious harm (CPA, 2017) in need of reporting for clients who participate in pain play. This study was designed to specifically elicit counsellors’ understandings about particular painful activities using vignettes as well as to recruit counsellors using an anonymous, online platform in an effort to facilitate participant comfort in voicing opinions on sensitive topics. One global theme, containing and maintaining the individual, and six supporting organizing themes were generated: bodily integrity, selfhood, presence of consent, social connectedness, mental health and healing, and threat and safety are vague. The findings from this project contributed to this budding area of literature, deepening the description of harm and health as understood by counsellors and, hopefully, contributing to discussions of ethics while working with this sexual minority population.