

Practicing Polyamory Podcast
Practicing Polyamory
Follow: @practicingpolya - Hosted by James Sias (he/him)
The mission of the Practicing Polyamory Podcast is to provide a platform for all of the real life, flawed humans that practice polyamory so that we might all learn from one another and grow as a community. This is a safe space where people admit their shortcomings and failures, celebrate wins, and talk about the hard lessons learned along each individual’s journey through polyam. Be aware, we may not always be able to provide trigger warnings, as our shows are recorded live. As often as possible we will do so in episode descriptions.
The mission of the Practicing Polyamory Podcast is to provide a platform for all of the real life, flawed humans that practice polyamory so that we might all learn from one another and grow as a community. This is a safe space where people admit their shortcomings and failures, celebrate wins, and talk about the hard lessons learned along each individual’s journey through polyam. Be aware, we may not always be able to provide trigger warnings, as our shows are recorded live. As often as possible we will do so in episode descriptions.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 24, 2021 • 33min
E.51 - Intersection of Religion/Spirituality and Polyamory with Rev. Amanda Ganley
Are you looking for a large, powerful transformation in your life, something that might require you to tune into your soul and shift some of your lifelong beliefs and paradigms?
Our guest today is a differently abled polyamorous preacher, podcaster, and spiritual coach, and in this episode, I talk with Reverend Amanda Ganley about what she went through when she dismantled the religious teachings of her childhood. She found herself discovering and connecting to her higher power and authentic self in groundbreaking ways and it was such a powerful shift for her and her life, that she felt called to minister and help others experience it, too.
Amanda loves to help her clients tap into their authenticity and help them discover that being true to oneself is the pathway to connecting with their higher power. Through these teachings, she has helped her clients turn the corner and accomplish their major life and relationship goals.
Tune in to hear the lessons she's learned regarding her spirituality, how it shows up in her polyamory, and how she's helping her clients find peace, self-awareness, and authentic connection to Spirit.
Learn more about Amanda at www.amandaganley.com and follow her @poly_priestess !

May 19, 2021 • 42min
E.50 - How Disordered Eating Affects Relationships with Katy Alaniz & Cutter Roberts
In this episode I get an opportunity to talk about the intersection between big bodied people and polyamory with therapists Katy Alaniz and Cutter Roberts. Both are therapists who help people dealing with eating disorders, navigating polyamory and ethical non-monogamy, and trauma. They are also partners, and we get a glimpse of how their relationships have been affected by living in big bodies. We talk about what they've done to navigate this intersection, and how they help their clients do the same. Tune in for some awesome conversation and insight, and learn more about our guests at www.thewakefulstate.com and www.dallasctc.com, and follow them @theweightytherapist and @dallasctc!

May 18, 2021 • 38min
E.49 - Powerfully Ending Relationships with Jen Schwartz
In this episode I interview Dr. Jen Schwartz, an awesome polyam therapist based out of Utah. She's been practicing polyamory for 20+ years, including having lived several years as part of a quad with as many as 12 children around at any given time! We get to explore how they navigated children and polyamory, how the children were affected by their parents' polyamory, and how Jen navigated powerfully ending a relationship with one member of the quad while marrying another. This was such a great conversation with a lot of funny stories, wonderful insights, and lessons we can all take away to improve our relationships even when they end. Learn more at www.thirdeyefamilysolutions.com and follow Dr. Jen @thirdeyefamilysolutions

May 17, 2021 • 37min
E.48 - Compersion and Relationship Expectations with Open Relating's Roy Graff
In this episode I am joined by Roy Graff from Open Relating, based out of the UK. We dive headfirst into talking about compersion and jealousy, and as the conversation goes on we get deep into what i means to truly connect your authentic self with your partner's authentic self. This was an amazing conversation full of nuggets of wisdom, tips, and strategies to becoming more self aware so that we can love our partners better. Roy offers coaching and a 5-week course for polyam folx. Learn more at www.openrelating.love and follow Roy everywhere @openrelating!

May 12, 2021 • 35min
E.47 - Intersection of Autism and Sex/Relationships with B Lourenco
In this episode I learned A LOT from therapist B Lourenco about how Autism Spectrum Disorder (or Autism Spectrum Condition hopefully soon!) shows up in adults and how it affects their relationships. Whether you are neuro-typical or neuro-diverse, there is a lot of great information packed into this 30-minute show! We discuss how ASD shows up in adults and how to bridge the gap in communication with neuro-mixed type relationships. Be sure to stay to the end to hear how dating someone who is neuro-diverse can really make your heart soar! Learn more about B at www.blourencotherapy.com!

May 11, 2021 • 34min
E.46 - Stop Seeing Metamours as Competition with Psychedelic Therapist Valerie Beltrán
In this episode with Valerie Beltrán, we discuss metamour relationships. She explains how in her own journey, her views shifted from seeing her metamours as a threat to her relationship, to seeing them as friends, confidants, and part of her community. Tune in to hear how she communicated her jealousy to her partner and how she overcame the tendency to compare herself to her metas. If you are interested in using psychedelics in your therapy journey, stay to the end where we get into some good discussion over what's around the corner in this exciting field of medicine. Learn more about Valerie at www.therapywithvalerie.com and www.psychsems.com, and follow her on IG: _damsel_in_destress_

May 10, 2021 • 38min
E.45 - How to be Truly Autonomous with Marie D'Elephant
What does it mean to be truly autonomous? Like really, TRULY autonomous? Amongst other things, it means to break free of all of the myriad constraints that we’re held back by…constraints held by society, held by family, held by our own expectations of ourselves based on what we’ve seen growing up, in the media, and that have been ingrained in us throughout our lives. In this episode, I’m joined by the incomparable Marie D’Elephant and we have aa fantastic conversation around breaking free of those constraints and taking ownership of our own lives. Tune in to learn more, and find out more about Marie at www.mariedelephant.com and follow her everywhere @mariedelephant

May 5, 2021 • 31min
E.44 - #endthestigma with Emelie A. Blank, MA, LPC
Therapists are human, too, and in this episode Emelie and I talk about what we can do to #endthestigma around everyone (including therapists) getting counseling and therapy. We dive into ADHD and I learn about the two types (inattentive and hyperactive), and Emelie tells me about how ADHD shows up in adulthood. Getting even deeper, we talk about what the term "neuro-typical" might mean, and the places where it intersects with polyamory. Tune in for a great conversation and learn more about Emelie at www.sprouttherapypdx.com and follow them on IG & TikTok: @sprouttherapypdx

May 4, 2021 • 40min
E.43 - Finding Fulfillment by Giving Back with Amariah Love
On today's episode we have therapist Amariah Love and her partner, Patrick, who talk to us about how they met and how Amariah's work as a therapist transcends into her polyamorous relationships. They talk about the benefits and challenges of having kink- and poly-friendly therapists, including protocol in case you see one another at kinky events! Stick around to the end to hear how stigmas around bisexual men shows up in polyam, and how Patrick has dealt with some of these issues. This is definitely a conversation that needs to continue! Learn more about Amariah at www.AmariahLove.com and follow her on FB: @AmariahLoveCounseling.

May 3, 2021 • 36min
E.42 - Handling Grief & the Power of Community with Taylor Mefford
Grief and identity are such interesting subjects and in this episode, therapist Taylor Mefford and I talk about where those two important subjects intersect. I gotta tell you all, I was really loving the way Taylor explained what it's like to come to terms with changes in our identities, especially recovering from religious upbringings and practicing ways to love that are contradictory to religious and societal teachings. Tune in for some fantastic analogies and a deep dive into how different types of grief affect our lives! For more from Taylor, go to www.MyTherapyNYC.com and follow @mytherapynyc!