The Leather Couch providers a comprehensive overview of the BDSM and kink community and guides clinicians on how to meet the unique relational and mental health needs of its members. 

The text offers a 101-style introduction to BDSM before delving into topics ranging from intersectionality within the kink community, to conducting a kink-affirming risk assessment and how to discern between domestic violence and consensual power exchange. The author explores differential diagnoses and clinical concerns that are relevant to health care providers including social workers and therapists as well as primary care physicians and sex educators. Interwoven throughout with real-world case studies, each chapter presents practical suggestions, tools, and handouts the reader can use to inform their practice and serve clients in a way that meets the needs of each individual, couple or partnership. 

Written in a conversational, accessible style for clinicians and members of the BDSM community alike, The Leather Couch is the go-to resource for any mental health professional or educator looking to transform their practice from kink aware to kink affirming. 

Praise for The Leather Couc

"A valuable resource, so compassionately written and well researched, and clinically helpful"
- Kathryn Hall, PhD, Past President, Society for Sex Therapy and Research
"Goerlich’s text provides a timely and critically needed contribution to the ongoing discourse of the other – that is, members and practitioners of the BDSM and kink community in a clinical counseling setting. The book is well-researched yet accessibly written, which makes it informative and enjoyable to read. For the neophyte, it provides a solid introduction to working with this complex and diverse population. For those already informed, the book contains a wealth of detailed clinical information to enrich and augment one’s existing knowledge...The Leather Couch is a valuable foundational resource for clinical counselors seeking to understand and responsibly work with clients who are drastically different from themselves. The salient concepts go beyond simply presenting information: they invite readers to explore and interrogate their personal views about the other (e.g. marginalized sexual communities)."
                                                                                               
​  - Peter Chirinos & Thomas Douglas, The Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

​2022 Professional Book Award

"This book is essential reading for sex therapists and is evidence of how knowledge about BDSM and the Kink community  ought to be standard practice in the field of sex therapy.  The book is informative and well-written; beginning with definitions of key terminology, clinical case examples, interviews with individuals from the kink community, suggestions for therapists, and resources and handouts for use in treatment.  We believe this book makes a very important contribution to the field of sex therapy."
2021 Book Award Winner