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professional may not be able to protect you. Since
some common consensual sexual practices, such as
prostitution, are crimes, ask the professional up front
how much information he feels it's appropriate for you
to share with him: "Mr. Counter, my sexual practices
are relevant to the work we're doing together, but I'm
not sure how much to tell you about them. Can you
suggest some guidelines about what information to
give you?"
Be clear about the difference between your
personal life and your professional life. Your accountant
may need information about activities that generate
income; she does not need to know what you and
your lovers do behind closed doors for your mutual
satisfaction.
Psychotherapists. The intimate nature of the
therapist/client relationship makes it very important
that you find a therapist who is not judgmental about
your sexuality ­ paying over $100 an hour to censor
yourself doesn't sound like a very good deal to me.
Perhaps the most difficult task is to find a
knowledgeable and nonjudgmental psychotherapist.
Part of the therapeutic process involves being
confronted with the ways in which your life is not
working, despite your repeated attempts to make the
same behavior patterns work. Mathematically, there
are at least five possibilities:
- your problems have no relationship whatsoever
to your sexuality
- your problems are the root cause of your
sexual behavior/orientation/identity, and that