ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the current legal and clinical status of BDSM, revisiting and updating some of the material included in Bridoux's. Janus and Janus report that up to 14 per cent of American men and the 11 per cent of American women have engaged in some form of BDSM sexual behaviour and estimates of the extent of BDSM fantasy are much higher. Kleinplatz and Moser point to the fact that BDSM organisations and events exist throughout the US, UK and in many other Western countries, and there is a huge variety of BDSM-related materials available in adult stores and on the 27 million or so web pages devoted to the topic. Kolmes, Stock and Moser found 118 reports of 'biased or inadequate' care from psychotherapists in their survey of 175 BDSM clients. Both Bridoux and Nichols also suggest ways in which the therapists can engage positively with BDSMers as clients.
