The Deep Psychology of BDSM and Kink

This fascinating volume investigates how the concept of soul is connected to BDSM and kink, exploring the world of alternative sexualities through the psychology of C. G. Jung and James Hillman as readers are guided on a provocative and lively journey through darker aspects of the sexual imagination. Contextualized both in sexual history and contemporary events, the book unveils surprising points of correspondence between the tortured fantasy-images of Jung's The Red Book and the modern world of BDSM and describes from Hillman's psychology a soul-centered perspective that affirms the psychological value of fantasy-images animating our human lives. The book also considers the collective archetypal sources of historical trauma which have provided inspiration to some of the more disquieting aspects of BDSM and details how the deep psychology of BDSM creates a space in the modern world to ethically engage these practices. Kinksters and BDSM practitioners will discover a psychological language that clarifies and affirms why these activities and relationships can be so intensely intimate, pleasurable, and transformative. Psychotherapists and enthusiasts of Jungian and archetypal psychology will find fresh insights here that support the practice of BDSM as a form of individuation and a path for bringing soul into the world.

Douglas Thomas has a private Jungian-based psychotherapy practice in Pasadena, California, where he specializes in work with dreams, LGBTQ+ issues, and alternative sexualities. He also teaches as adjunct faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California. Dr. Thomas has written articles for the Journal of Jungian Scholarly Studies and International Journal of Jungian Studies. His essay "My Kinky Shadow: The poetics of the sadomasochistic Other" was published last year in Routledge's The Spectre of the Other in Jungian Psychoanalysis. For more information, visit Dr. Thomas' website at Drdouglasthomas.com.

Acknowledgments  Foreword  Preface  Part 1: Psychological Perspectives  1. Confrontation with the Erotic Unconscious  2. A Jungian Perspective  3. An Archetypal Persepctive  Part 2: Psychological Lessons  4. Play  5. Suffering and Degradation  6. The Specter of Evil  7. The Depths of Ecstasy  8. Intimations of Death  Epilogue The Final Word is Love