AJ Renard (she/her) has been involved in the BDSM world her entire adult life, although she was a dark little thing far before that. AJ is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and has a deep passion for teaching about the intersection of BDSM and mental health. She finds her happy place when there is rope, electricity, knives, boots, fear, and a lot of crying involved. In her limited free time she makes custom chainmaille for her shop, Foxy Feisty Redhead.

AJ teaches a variety of classes about consent, negotiations, perspectives on D/s, bottoming for intense scenes and edgeplay, mental health and BDSM, and behavioral science in PE dynamics. Additionally she often teaches about BDSM in non-kink spaces, hoping to de-stigmatize kink for therapists and medical professionals. She also loves demo bottoming for Violet Wand demos, and things that make her shy in front of groups of people.

Thank you for your interest and your support of THRIVE! Because THRIVE is 100% free, we ask that you pay it forward by donating to our speakers. 

AJ Renard accepts support through PayPal (FoxyFeistyRedhead@gmail.com) 
If you enjoyed AJ, you can follow her on FoxyFeistyRedhead.com or Fetlife (fetlife.com/users/419271)

If you would like to support THRIVE’s efforts, consider picking up THRIVE swag at https://www.redbubble.com/people/DevynStone/

Historically, pathologization of BDSM has created a barrier for accessing mental health treatment, and while there is more acceptance and understanding of kink overall, many people who expand their dynamics outside the bedroom still face a lot of misunderstanding and stigma in therapeutic spaces. Power Exchange and Authority Transfer dynamics can take many forms for the people involved, from being present during kinky play to informing and applying to all aspects of someone's life and relationship. To mental health professionals, the way these consensual relationships are structured can appear similar to the power imbalances many of us learned were red flags. This class unpacks and discusses working with clients involved in consensual power dynamics, including thinking about how we are creating a welcoming environment, challenging our own assumptions, and navigating how that dynamic may interact with the therapeutic work.