• COURSE DESCRIPTION

    This course with Dr. Elyssa Helfer, a certified sex therapist and clinical sexologist, works to close the education gap on kink and BDSM for mental health professionals by centering consent, power exchange, and negotiation as clinical foundations. Listeners will learn how BDSM (bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, masochism) fits within the broader kink umbrella, how to distinguish healthy kink from abuse, and why porn and pop-media are unreliable models for practice. Dr. Helfer examines ethics, bias, and cultural humility, alongside data showing that about half of surveyed clinicians encounter kinky clients while only ~10% report any training—underscoring the need for competence, consultation, or referral.

  • LEARNING OBJECTIVES

    Upon completing this course, participants will be able to: List three or more core pillars of kink-competent practice, including consent, negotiation, and aftercare; Identify two ethical risks of clinician bias when working with kinky clients and explain one strategy to mitigate each


    TARGET AUDIENCE & INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL

    This course is intended for psychologists, therapists, social workers, clinical counselors, and addiction counselors. Instructional level: Intermediate





  • HOW TO TAKE THIS COURSE

    In order to receive a certificate of completion reflecting the associated CE credit hour, you must:
    #1: Have an active paid Clearly Clinical membership
    #2: Listen to the corresponding course podcast
    #3: Achieve a passing grade on the post-presentation test (the test has up to ten questions and you must earn a score of at least 80%; users can re-test up to three times. After three attempts, users are advised to re-listen to the audio course in its entirety and then subsequently re-test. Psychologists who are seeking CE credit may not be awarded credit if they attempt to pass the post-test more than three times.)
    #4: Complete the requested course evaluation.

    Course elements (including the course audio, post-test, and requested course evaluation) can be completed on a computer or mobile device via your Clearly Clinical account.

  • COURSE FORMAT

    This course contains a one-hour, non-interactive audio podcast which is available for free on all major public podcast platforms, including YouTube, by searching for 'Clearly Clinical'. You can also listen to and download the audio file via our course player.

  • ACCOMMODATIONS

    If you have special needs or need an accommodation, please email us at [email protected] and we will do our best to assist you.

    If reading along while listening is helpful for you, we recommend listening to our podcast on YouTube with the closed captioning feature enabled (to do this, click the button in the YouTube video player with the 'CC' on it).

  • CERTIFICATE ACCESS DETAILS

    Once you've completed the course, your certificate will automatically populate in the 'Certificate' section of your account; it will also be emailed to you. Course certificates will be on file for ten (10) years from date of course completion regardless of a user's paid membership status.

  • COMMERCIAL SUPPORT

    There is no known commercial support for this CE program, presenter, sponsor, instructor, or content. The instructor references their own resources as a potential option for further learning. The presenter has a possible bias relating to her clinical work with TASHRA, the Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals involved in alternative sexualities

Interviewer and Interviewee

Dr. Elyssa Helfer, MS, LMFT

Sex Therapy & Kink Expert

Elyssa Helfer, founder of Elevated Healing Center, is a Sex Therapist and Clinical Sexologist in the Los Angeles area. She earned her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and has a Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist serving clientele in California, Colorado, and Florida. As an Adjunct Professor at Antioch University- Seattle, Elyssa specializes in and teaches about working with erotically marginalized communities, primarily the kink population. In addition to her therapy practice, Elyssa creates and presents kink/BDSM- related coursework and workshops, writes for Psychology Today, and is a Research Associate at The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance (TASHRA). When she is not obsessively buying books or fueling her coffee cravings, you’ll almost always find her in her office surrounded by vulva art, rocking her purple hair, and finding new ways to remain a student forever. Please visit Dr. Helfer at HealingWithElyssa.com.

Elizabeth 'Beth' Irias, MS, LMFT

Interviewer & Clearly Clinical Founder

Elizabeth 'Beth' Irias (she/her) is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and the Founder and President of Clearly Clinical. She has specializations in Clinical Documentation, Feedback Informed Treatment, Best Practice, and Utilization Review, and works closely with clinical teams across the US as a trainer and national conference presenter; Beth was formerly an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University in the Graduate Psychology and Education department. Licensed in California and Oregon, she provides therapy via her private practice to young adult and adult clients, members of the LGBTQ population, and those with addictive disorders. She has two young children, a super cool spouse who helps out with Clearly Clinical's tech, and a rescue dog.

Why is Clearly Clinical the nation's premier CE provider?

  • CONVENIENT: All courses are 1-hour podcast episodes, available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, and all other free public podcast platforms

  • AFFORDABLE: We offer quality CE courses through a reasonably-priced membership

  • SOCIALLY-RESPONSIBLE: We make ongoing donations to The Trevor Project for LGBT youth suicide prevention, and have also previously donated to Black & Brown Founders, the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, Black Women’s Blueprint, Feeding America, and The Center for Reproductive Rights.

  • WOMAN-OWNED & QUEER-OWNED: We are founded and run by Elizabeth Irias, LMFT

  • DIVERSE: We highlight expert presenters from historically-marginalized communities


Quick Note: Are you confused about the difference between a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) and a Continuing Education (CE) Credit Hour?  Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for clarification!