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Appropriating the mythology of Satan as a god of carnality, modern Satanism began as a new religious movement in 1966 with the founding of the Church of Satan. Since then, the religion has experienced numerous schisms and factions, most recently with the formation of The Satanic Temple in 2012. Despite differences in the role of esoteric elements in the religion and other theological or governance reasons for division, Satanists are united in their shared values of sexual liberation and viewing sexuality as a form of authentic self-expression important to their religious beliefs. Conceptualizing Satanism as a non-dominant, sex-positive religion, sex and relationship therapists should understand how Satanists' sexuality can benefit from a religious belief in sexual liberation, but can also be hindered by religious minority stress. The historical development of modern Satanism, the intersections of Satanism and gender, sexual orientation, and relationships, and guidelines for therapists working with Satanist clients are discussed. Modern Satanism is an oft-misunderstood new religious movement. This paper provides an overview of the development of Satanism with special attention to its beliefs and practices relevant to sexuality. Guidelines are presented for sex and relationship therapists on how to appropriately assess and treat Satanist clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern Satanism is an oft-misunderstood and stigmatized minority religion that has largely been viewed by mental health professionals through a lens of deviance. Understanding Satanists’ experiences with this stigmatized identity is absent in the current psychological literature. Conceptualizing Satanism within the minority stress and rejection-identification models, a nonrandom sample of 1,272 self-identified Satanists were surveyed about their strength of identity, anticipated discrimination, and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that aspects of Satanist identity (centrality and in-group ties) positively correlated with anticipated discrimination, and other aspects (in-group ties and in-group affect) negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. Additionally, in-group ties moderated the relationship between anticipated discrimination and depressive symptoms, suggesting that Satanists who have social support from other Satanists are less affected by the depressive repercussions of anticipated discrimination. Implications for mental health professionals treating Satanists presenting with religious minority stressors and depressive symptoms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pornography's effects on sexual minority men have not been extensively researched. Studies specifically examining its effects on body image in both heterosexual and sexual minority men have reported conflicting findings and have only used correlational and qualitative methods. This is this first known experimental study to investigate the impact of pornography on sexual minority men's body image. Eighty-seven sexual minority men were recruited for an online study. Participants were randomly assigned to watch either a pornographic video or nature video, and then completed three questionnaires assessing male genital self-image, drive for muscularity, and social physique anxiety. Results indicated that participants exposed to pornography did not report greater social physique anxiety, greater drive for muscularity, or reduced genital body image compared to participants exposed to the nature video. Self-reported history of pornography use was not associated with scores on the body image measures utilized. These results contradict previous findings indicating a positive correlation between pornography use and body dissatisfaction in sexual minority men, and further research is needed to explore these discrepancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research reported some segments of the sex worker population are at higher risks of negative health outcomes. Historically, these outcomes were viewed as a result of the work itself without taking into consideration the role of the stigma and often criminalization of the work that may be the contributing factors impacting distress. Therefore, drawing upon minority stress theory and affirmative therapy guidelines for the LGBT population, this article conceptualizes sex workers' mental health through a lens of stigma and stigma management. From this conceptualization, the article presents competency, assessment, and treatment principles to serve as the basis for sex worker affirmative therapy. A case study detailing a sex worker's struggles with boundary setting and establishing romantic relationships is presented to highlight how sex worker affirmative therapy can be applied in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]