Background

Gabriele Hoff, PsyD, met people in the 1980's who were playing with power consciously. Always interested in psychology and sexuality, Dr Hoff made erotic powerplay, consensual sadomasochism (SM), Dominance and submission (Ds) and fetish play the focus of her studies and, later on, the topic of her films. Dr Hoff began interviewing many people- doctors, lawyers, college students, blue collar workers, business executives, housewives, professional dominatrixes and their clients- about their powerplay fantasies and sexual practices. She, to date, has interviewed over 1200 individuals and couples. She began including all aspects of erotic powerplay into her films and research. She found that erotic powerplay is a greatly misunderstood topic.

 

What is erotic powerplay?
In a nutshell: Dr Hoff found that most people play with power sexually to a certain extent, some more and others less, and that consensual SM and Ds are just the more intense aspect of erotic powerplay. Yet prejudice towards the more intense forms of erotic powerplay are rampant. Dr Hoff believes that consensual SM and Ds could be taken out of a niche that separates these activities from regular sex. Instead, SM and Ds could be considered to simply represent the more intense aspect of erotic powerplay (along a continuum) instead. Her film projects, her research studies, her workshops and her presentations are all part of her educational project "Erotic Powerplay®."

 

• Videos: Dr Hoff is dedicated to removing the stigma and stereotypes surrounding erotic powerplay and those who engage in it. To help dispel the misconceptions, she is producing a series of entertainingly educational videos entitled "Powerplay in Relationships."
• Video Podcasting: Here you can find Dr Hoff's regularly published video podcasts and a trailer of her film project.
• Teaching: Dr Hoff is a lecturer at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, San Francisco. She has providede guest lectures at San Francisco State University in the Human Sexuality program, at Sonoma State University and at the Domenican University in San Rafael, CA. She has made presentations at many organizations that offer psychological services or training, including the University of California at San Francisco AIDS Health Project, the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Psychiatry Department, and the Center for Special Problems.
• Consultations: Dr Hoff is also available for individual consultations with psychotherapists, to help expand the therapist's knowledge of erotic powerplay and its significance for those people engaged in this form of sexual expression, so that they can work more effectively with all their clients, no matter what the clients' sexual practice may be.

  Dr Hoff is available for individual and couple consultations for anyone curious about the deeper meaning behind their fantasies. BDSM counseling can be held in San Francisco or on the telephone for out-of-town clients.

• Research and Public Appearances: Dr Hoff presented at the annual conference of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality in Las Vegas 2006; she presented at the AASECT conference in San Francisco, 2006; she presented at the World Congress of Sexology in Montreal, Canada, 2005; she presented at the annual conference of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality in San Antonio, Texas, 2003.
  Dr Hoff has written several articles on different aspects of powerplay, SM and DS. Her most recent research is awaiting publication. She was interviewed by Discovery Channel Canada: The Sex Files, shown in 2004.
• Book: She is also currently working on a book aimed at a general audience, to help those trying to understand the range of powerplay fantasies.
• Academic Degrees: Dr Hoff received a masters degree in Counseling Psychology from San Francisco State University and a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) from the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco.
  Dr Hoff is not a licensed psychotherapist. She provides consultations and educational training.