Poster 52 – Using BDSM to Manage Endometriosis Pain: A Clinical Case Report

Presenters

• Kristina Brown, PhD, LMFT, Professor and Chair of the Couple and Family Therapy Department, Adler University, Chicago, IL
• Leisel Iverson, MS, ATC, Doctoral Student in Clinical Psychology at Adler University, Chicago, IL

Summary

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological condition that indiscriminately effects approximately 176 million women across the world. Three major symptoms – dysmenorrhea (painful menses), dyspareunia (painful intercourse), and infertility – are the most commonly seen both at diagnosis and throughout management of the disease. Pain due to endometriosis impacts a woman on a daily basis and management of this pain is as varied as the woman diagnosed. Research has been done on the utilization of alternative treatments ranging from yoga to spinal cord stimulation. This presentation will present a clinical case report about a woman engaging in BDSM (Bondage and discipline, Dominance and submission, Sadism, and Masochism) to manage her endometriosis pain. A history of the patient’s diagnosis, interventions, and treatment will be presented as well as how the patient came to utilize BDSM in response to debilitating endometriosis pain. The patient’s decision-making process as well as descriptions of actual engagement in BDSM and how it connects to manage the pain for the patient will be presented. A common myth about BDSM is that it is about the desire to experience or inflict pain. In this case, we have discovered that it is the actual control and power over the pain as well as the displacement of pain that mitigates the experience of endometriosis pain for this patient. Considered an “invisible illness,” many women with endometriosis express their feelings of loss in their quality of life across multiple facets as well as being betrayed by their own bodies. By expanding a clinician’s repertoire with additional methods of pain management for women with endometriosis and other pelvic pain experiences broadens the opportunity for improved quality of life for the woman and the couple.

Objectives

• Understand introductory information about both endometriosis and BDSM.
• Explain the intersections between the experience of pain in endometriosis and BDSM as an alternative method of pain management for pelvic pain.
• Expand their abilities to help women and couples who struggle with pain management.