Bay Area Reporter
David Ortmann is a San Francisco-based psychotherapist, sex therapist, and author. His areas of clinical focus and study include the sexuality of the BDSM, kink, fetish, and leather communities, concepts and theories of masculinity, and the processes of human attachment and differentiation. He speaks locally and nationally in an effort to promote leather and BDSM community visibility and improve clinical psychotherapeutic interventions for these populations.
Scott Brogan: I’ve noticed that many people I meet in our community have vocations in mental health or some type of psychology. Is there a correlation?
David Ortmann: It’s funny, I haven’t noticed that. Maybe I don’t see it because I’m a member of these communities and a mental health professional. Perhaps I take it for granted or just see it as normative. What I will say is that what we manipulate, exploit and use in the leather/kink/fetish/BDSM communities (power, roles, gear, levels of dominance and submission, etc.) requires a person to have a certain level of healthy self-reflection and a sense of responsibility that can really only be found in someone who has an awareness of their own psychological makeup. This kind of sexuality isn’t meant to be undertaken thoughtlessly or unconsciously. …