Polyamory: A Clinical Toolkit through a Personal Lens

Polyamory is in the news, in the movies, and in the therapy room. As media attention for this open relationship style grows, more and more people are giving it a try. Working skillfully with this marginalized group requires gaining cultural competence specific to their struggles. Learn how challenges specific to polyamory might present in your therapy room, and how to identify and disrupt maladaptive relational strategies without perpetuating negative cultural bias. Expect a combination of personal and professional experience, case examples, client handouts, and an opportunity to ask Martha your most pressing questions about polyamory.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to demonstrate the Calm/Safe place resource.
2. Participants will be able to discuss the Container resource.
3. Participants will be able to describe Signature Strengths.
4. Participants will be able to identify their top five Signature Strengths for further
   reflection.

Martha Kauppi is a marriage and family therapist, AASECT certified sex therapist, educator, author, and speaker. She has a lifelong career in health and sexuality, and as the founding director of the Institute for Relational Intimacy, her mission is to co-create a world in which it is easy to find a therapist who can work effectively with any relational intimacy challenge, including sex issues and polyamory. To that end, she develops and presents educational materials and therapeutic strategies based in theory and scientific knowledge while also being practical, effective, and immediately applicable. Her work is informed by her personal experience; Martha identifies as queer and polyamorous and is in two relationships, each spanning over two decades. She is the author of Polyamory: A Clinical Toolkit for Therapists (and Their Clients).