Kink-Aware & Sex-Positive Therapy in Massachusetts

Therapy for Erotically Marginalized Communities

“Erotically marginalized communities” refer to “people who are at risk of being apathologized and oppressed outside and inside the clinical setting due to their sexual identities, orientations and practices” (Constantinides, Sennott & Chandler, 2019).

At The Pomegranate Institute we are committed to providing psychotherapy that is affirming, pleasure-positive and non-judgmental. We’re passionate about working with folks who are:

• LGBTQIA+
• Involved in kink and fetish
• Consensually non-monogamous (CNM), ethically non-monogamous (ENM) and polyamorous
• Engaged in sex work
  

While these aspects of your identity may not be the reason you are seeking treatment, you deserve to work with someone who is familiar with and support of them. 

If a therapist has ever… 

• Told you that need to work on your “anxious attachment style”, so then you won’t “need” multiple partners 
• Called you “hyper-sexual” and said that the amount of sex you are having is probably a symptom of Bipolar disorder 
• Threatened to call to the Department of Children and Families because you engage in sex work
• Framed your kink as something that can be “cured” with therapy
  

Know that you deserve better. You deserve a therapist who will: 

• Support you while you figure out what and who you’re into, and how to show up in the world in safe and authentic ways 
• Recognize the hard work involved in uprooting shame 
• See pleasure as a fundamental part of being human and being well 
• Recognize the impact of collective trauma and marginalization 
• Understand gender and sexual orientation as a spectrum 
• Commit to recognizing the complex and cumulative ways in which multiple forms of discrimination (racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc.) combine, overlap and intersect
  

At The Pomegranate Institute, we offer: 

Psychodynamically Oriented Treatment:

Psychodynamic describes how we think about our patients, and how we believe change happens in a therapy session. To be psychodynamic means to be deeply curious about the forces that drive our behavior. If you’ve ever found yourself exclaiming “why am I like this?”, you’re on the right track. You’re already aware that sometimes our behavior is governed by forces that feel a little outside of our control or even awareness. In therapy, our job is to help you develop your insight so that all of these threads feel like a tapestry that supports you, rather than a net that traps you. If you’re comfortable exploring the as of yet uncharted territory of your own mind, this approach will be a good fit for you. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the single best researched intervention that exists in the world of psychotherapy. CBT involves studying the relationship between situations, automatic thoughts we have about these situations, and how we feel. CBT assumes that our responses make sense if we understand the context. CBT is not about telling you that what you think is wrong, rather, it helps you explore the likelihood that your thoughts might be more negative and less realistic and that this distortion is contributing to how crummy you feel. CBT can be incredibly effective for treating depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, and it can be a great tool for problem solving and making changes.

If you’re searching for a therapist who won’t bat an eye and is with you in solidarity, reach out, we can’t wait to meet you!