Kink, Trauma Play, and Healing: A Research-Informed Deep Dive

with Aidan Sunassee

a live and recorded online class from Wicked Grounds

4/18 11am Pacific

If you have engaged in trauma play in kink, this class gives you a straightforward way to understand what was happening. Many kink practitioners who work with traumatic experiences through kink recognize the territory but often lack the language to describe it. Some leave a scene feeling steadier, while others feel more shaken, largely because no one ever taught them how to name the processes they just went through. People have been working through difficult emotions in kink for a long time, and research is only now beginning to catch up.

This class brings together community insight and current research tidbits to offer a clearer picture of the patterns, mechanics, and meanings people often find in trauma play. Without idealizing or pathologizing the practice, it provides a space to look closely at something many people know intimately and want to finally understand. Join us for a kinky deep-dive, with plenty of time for questions and chit-chat!

PRESENTER:

Aidan Sunassee (he/him) is a certified sexologist, educator, researcher, and active member of the kink community. His facilitation style is trauma-aware, grounded in inclusive practices, and informed by both personal experience and academic research. He is dedicated to bridging the gap between academic knowledge and lived experience, creating spaces where community voices are centered, respected, and empowered. Aidan is affiliated with the APA Division 44 Taskforce on Kink and BDSM, serves on the board and research team of TASHRA, and teaches with the Center for Positive Sexuality. His independent research explores how pleasure and power exchange intersect with healing in kink spaces and dynamics. Beyond his research, he has developed and led community education programs on kink, consent, trauma awareness, and ethical non-monogamy.

At the core of his approach is a belief that academic knowledge and lived truth must meet and challenge each other.

ACCESS:

This will be a live, online class offered through Zoom. To participate, you may need to download the free, basic version of the Zoom app before the class! This class will be recorded and is available for later viewing within seven days of the class.

Zoom now provides closed captioning which will be available for this event.