When Power is the Relationship
A 3-Day Intensive on Supporting BDSM Power Exchange Clients
March 12-14, 2027
Denver, CO
Pending approval for 18 AASECT CEs
PENDING 18 AASECT CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
Most clinician trainings about BDSM try to make power disappear.
It gets softened into “play,” reduced to checklists, or translated into frameworks that prioritize comfort over accuracy.
However, it is the dimension of power (more than the sexual or pain play) that 45–60% of adults report having fantasies about.
(Dunkley & Brotto, 2018)
So why aren’t we talking about power exchange?
Weekend Logistics
When
Friday, March 12th, 1-8 pm
Saturday, March 13th, 9 am-8 pm; with an optional social and kink tasting from 8-9:30 pm
Sunday, March 14th, 9 am-6:30 pm
Where
Denver Metro Area. Specific location to be released to registrants.
How Big
We are committed to a small, personalized intensive with no more than 20 spots.
Weekend Overview
This three-day intensive offers an in-depth exploration of power play and power exchange dynamics, designed for clinicians seeking to deepen their competency in working with kinky clients and power exchange relationships.
Day 1
We start with the thing at the center of it all: power. What is it, what makes power exchange different from other forms of kink, and why do people choose to build relationships around it? We’ll move beyond “Power Exchange 101” to explore the many ways these dynamics can actually be structured. We'll discuss how domains of control function, the difference between protocols and rituals, and various relationship configurations that fall well outside the stereotypical male Dom/femme sub model (i.e., queer, non-sexual, and/or non-monogamous dynamics).
We’ll close the day with a lively panel featuring a variety of people who live and work within power exchange, exploring the very different reasons people choose power and what these relationships can mean in real life. Then we’ll keep the conversation going over dinner with our panelists.
Day 2
Knowing what power exchange is one thing. Knowing what happens when it walks into your therapy office is another. We’ll examine the biases, assumptions, stigma, and diagnostic frameworks that can make therapeutic care difficult to access for people in power exchange relationships, including the ways clinicians may inadvertently pathologize relationships that simply fall outside normative expectations.
From there, we’ll turn toward practice: how do we actually acknowledge power exchange dynamics in the therapy room or support clients who want to explore or evolve their dynamics?
The afternoon brings these ideas to life through a kink demonstration scene and Q&A, followed by an evening of food, community, and optional social time and kink tasting from local experts.
Day 3
Real relationships are messy...and power exchange relationships are no exception.
We’ll spend the final day exploring when things get complicated: consent that changes, relationships that evolve, agreements that break down, and dynamics that encounter conflict, harm, or rupture. We’ll examine how familiar consent models might not be able to hold the complexity that arises in power exchange relationships and explore consent as relational, embodied, contextual, and deeply intertwined with power and intersectionality.
From there, we’ll examine unique struggles that can emerge in power exchange relationships and how common relational struggles might also present differently. We'll also consider how power exchange itself can sometimes function as adaptive, therapeutic, or healing. In all of this, we will include diverse relationship examples, because most power exchange dynamics are not cis-hetro-mononormative.
We’ll bring the weekend together through case discussion, questions, and a final conversation about what it means to provide genuinely affirming care for people whose relationships don't fit neatly inside conventional frameworks.
Beyond Lectures
What else this weekend includes:
Why Power Exchange: Lived-Experience Panel
Hear directly from people who live power exchange relationships about why they enjoy power play and power exchange, what it means to them, and how their relationships actually work. This is your chance to ask all your burning questions and hear about the varied ways these relationships can look in real life.
Power Exchange Kink Scene Demonstration + Q&A
See power exchange in action through a facilitated scene demonstration, followed by an opportunity to unpack what you witnessed. We’ll move beyond voyeurism and into thoughtful conversation about structure, communication, negotiation, embodiment, and the clinical questions that emerge when power becomes lived practice.
Evening Social & Kink Tasting
After dinner on Day 2, enjoy time socializing and participating in an optional kink tasting. Featuring multiple stations, our local kink experts will give you the chance to "taste" or try different kinks, such as sensation play, shibari, and flogging, without committing to a full scene. Kink tastings are not only a great way to see what different things feel like, but are also one of the main ways those who are newer to kink might first encounter the public BDSM scene.
Meals to Keep Your Brain Fueled
Our time together includes dinner on Day 1, lunch and dinner on Day 2, lunch on Day 3, and plenty of snacks, coffee, and tea to keep you fueled, focused, and engaged throughout the weekend.
A Note On Inclusivity
This training centers the experiences of clients whose identities and relationships are often marginalized in both clinical spaces and the broader kink community, including trans and queer people, non-monogamous people, disabled and neurodivergent people, and people of color. Our organizers share many of these identities and believe that meaningful kink-affirming care requires engaging with the full diversity of the communities we serve and not treating difference as an exception to the norm. This training is intentionally designed to reflect the complexity, diversity, and lived realities of the kink community.
Pricing
Full Weekend Registration
$750
Your registration includes:
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18 AASECT CE hours (pending accreditation)
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Three days of programming
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Day 1 dinner*
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Day 2 lunch + dinner*
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Day 3 lunch*
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Snacks, coffee, and tea all weekend
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Lived-experience panel with power exchange practitioners
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Power exchange demonstration + clinical Q&A
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Opportunities for discussion, case consultation, and connection
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Access to optional evening social and kink tasting
*We are committed to working with allergies, dietary restrictions, or special dietary needs.
Does not include:
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Travel, lodging, and any expenses outside of the included meals.
Payment plans are available. Select PayPal Payment Plan at checkout or reach out to Ari at ari@beyondnormative.com to discuss alternative payment plan options.
Scholarships Are Available
Accessibility is extremely important to us. For this reason, we offer scholarships to support those with access needs and who experience marginalization within the mental health field.
One out of every 15 attendees will receive a 90% scholarship
Two out of every 15 attendees will receive a 50% scholarship
Two out of every 15 attendees will receive a 25% scholarship
SCHEDULE OUTLINE
Day 1
Power Play
Foundations
Friday, 1 pm - 8 pm
Topics Covered:
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Orientation, Introductions, Getting to Know You
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What is Power
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What is Power Play
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Kinky Relationships vs Power Exchange Relationships
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Beyond Power Exchange 101
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Why Power Exchange Panel
Meals Provided:
Coffee/Snacks
Dinner with Panelists
Day 2
Barriers to Accessing Support and
Therapeutic Care
Saturday, 9 am-8 pm
(or 9:30 pm if attending optional social & kink tasting)
Topics Covered:
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Identifying clinician biases and assumptions
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Common struggles power-exchange face in attending therapy
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How do we address and challenge our biases
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Welcoming/acknowledging the power dynamic(s) in the therapy space
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Supporting clients in exploring power exchange dynamics
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Applying Sexual and Pain Play to Power Play
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Demo Scene w/Q+A
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Optional Social and Kink Tasting
Meals Provided:
Coffee/Snacks
Lunch
Dinner with Tasting Providers
Day 3
Supporting Relational Struggles in
Power Dynamics in the Therapy Space
Sunday 9:30 am-6:30 pm
Topics Covered:
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Complicating Consent in Power Exchange Dynamics
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Other common struggles for those in power exchange
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Power exchange as therapeutic, healing, and adaptive
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Questions, Conclusions and Wrap Up
Meals Provided:
Coffee/Snacks
Lunch