Open Relationship & Polyamory Counseling

• Considering opening up an existing relationship, and/or wondering if an open relationship is right for you?
• Struggling with communication, jealousy and insecurity in your open relationship?
• Needing support in living an alternative lifestyle?
• Wondering how to establish and maintain trust as a relationship opens?

I can help your relationship get on the solid footing it needs to have a more successful open relationship. If you’ve opened your relationship already and have encountered some difficult issues, therapy can help you navigate those issues for more understanding and renewed trust. I understand that open relationships can heighten personal emotional triggers in ways that monogamous relationships might not.

I am a licensed psychotherapist with about 10 years of personal and professional experience with non-monogamy, and I specialize in working with couples. Particularly, I’ve helped many primary couples who want to strengthen their bond as one partner or both begin to include others in some deeper emotional and/or sexual way. I’ve helped many couples successfully move through the early stages of opening their relationship, and I’ve helped those who’ve been open for some time and need to repair a recent misstep or reevaluate their relationship. My approach emphasizes communication that is heard, felt and understood. I can also offer lots of tools, ideas and insights for couples who are new to open relationships. With an attitude of humor, curiosity and compassion, I want to help you find the structure that works for you. I have been in both monogamous and open relationships and am not biased toward one or the other. I believe it is important for each couple to find the relationship structure that best suits their needs and goals. I am committed to assisting those with any gender identity in finding love and connection.

Polyamory, sometimes referred to as “ethical non-monogamy”, is at its essence a relationship style of being in an emotional and/or sexual relationship with more than one person, while being honest, caring and considerate with all others one is intimately involved with. When done well, it can allow for an expression of sex and love that is not usually available in monogamous relationships. The struggles in a polyamorous or open relationship usually involve issues of communication, boundaries and agreements, insecurity and jealousy, fear of losing a partner and being clear about what you want.

Historically, traditional psychotherapy has reflected the dominant culture in assuming that monogamy is the natural and healthiest form of partnership. This has done a disservice to polyamorous people by not acknowledging that many people are not monogamous and by not offering ways of understanding and supporting non-traditional relationships.

The benefit you’ll receive as a couple or individual from my open relationship counseling experience will be to have a stronger, more secure base to open from. I offer practical tools and a rich array of therapeutic techniques to assist you in emotionally connecting with clear, loving, honest communication. Our work together can help you develop a strong foundation of inner trust and integrity to support navigating open relationships. With my experienced guided support, you can grow in your ability to communicate with honesty and deepen intimacy.