Normalizing Non-Monogamy - Interviews in Polyamory and Swinging

Kate's journey into non-monogamy kicked off almost 20 years ago when she came home from work and her partner at the time proposed the idea of swinging to her. Since then, she has spent two decades figuring out and exploring what works best for her. Like many, a strict label of "swinger" or "polyamorous" doesn't really seem to fit. As Kate shares, the best label she has found for herself is simply "fluid." We hope you enjoy this deep dive into her personal journey.   Kate Loree, LMFT, is a sex-positive licensed marriage and family therapist with a specialty in non-monogamous, kink, LGBTQ, and sex worker communities and the author of Open Deeply: A Guide to Building Conscious, Compassionate Open Relationships.   In addition to her master’s in marriage and family therapy, she also has an MBA and is a registered art therapist (ATR). She is an EDSE certified sex educator and an EMDR certified therapist with additional training in the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM) for the treatment of trauma. She has been practicing psychotherapy since 2003.   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Sunny has always questioned just about everything in their life. They realized they were bisexual by age 15 and by age 17 had started exploring their relationship to gender. Now, at the age of 25, Sunny is a delightful queer, non-binary human who has never had a monogamous relationship and is on a journey to be the happiest version of themselves! We love this wide-ranging conversation that covers so many beautiful topics. Enjoy!   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Jessica is a curator of brave spaces for people to own their power and awaken to their most expansive selves. Through her work as a coach and retreat facilitator, she realized it was people’s relationships that needed healing the most. That’s when she decided to launch her podcast, Open Late, a look at relationships through her lens of consensual non-monogamy. She wants to inspire people to create designer relationships filled with truth, vulnerability, intimacy and play.   In this amazing conversation she takes us on the journey of opening up her marriage about seven years ago. We get into so many fantastic topics including strategies around confronting shame, falling in love, evolving relationships, blending casual swinging-ish relationships with polyamory, and even the prospect of having a baby while in a triad. Enjoy!   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Jude is a queer, neurodivergent, non-binary, badass. They learned about non-monogamy roughly eight years ago and started exploring is for themselves a bit over a year ago. After much self-discovery, Jude is feeling the pull to move back toward monogamy but wants to bring what they learned along the way with them.   This conversation is fantastic and covers so many topics in a beautiful way. We talk about communal living, life partners, labels, gender identity, self acceptance, Jello wrestling, and living a life that just feels good to you. Jude is definitely doing life their own way and this episode is an inspiration in doing the same. Enjoy!   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

William's first conversations and exposure to non-monogamy happened around 2003 while he was living in Louisiana. A few years later he and his partner moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and by 2014 the San Francisco Chronicle named William Winters the "de facto king of the East Bay polyamory scene."   In this wonderful conversation, William brings us along with him on the full journey from discovering and beginning to explore ethical non-monogamy (ENM) to founding the Bonobo Network and building an incredible sex-positive community, We love this conversation and the work the Bonobo team are doing! We hope you do as well!   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Meshai and her husband have been married for 17 years but only in the last few years have they explored non-monogamy. For them, they oscillate between more of a casual swinging approach and something that looks more like polyamory. We have amazing conversations with her about living life to the fullest, how non-monogamy forces you to see yourself, and how she sort of ended up exploring her sexuality without really recognizing there was anything to explore. At least until everything clicked! Meshai also comes from a very religious background and she talks with us about how she approaches non-monogamy and religion. This is an amazing conversation and we hope you enjoy it!   Meshai is dually licensed and certified in both Trauma Therapy and Sex Therapy. She believes in the power of living as one’s authentic self, and the freedom that comes from changing perspectives. She loves putting the puzzle pieces together of a couple's sexual energy and aiding them in positive and explorative movement.   Her coaching work implements creative synergy, openness, self-expression, and the confrontation of challenges through self-determination. She helps individuals from diverse populations move forward with their goals while being fully aware that trauma can play on the whole person. To learn more about how to work with Meshai, head over to Expansive Connection.   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

We are so excited about this conversation with Gary that is all about the power of play in life and in relationships! Gary Ware is the Founder of Breakthrough Play, a corporate facilitator, keynote speaker, certified coach, and self-proclaimed Creative Catalyst. Gary has over 14 years of experience in the corporate world holding various leadership positions. Being a multifaceted individual Gary also comes with nearly a decade of experience as a performer in improv theatre. After experiencing burnout in his pursuit for success and happiness, he realized that what was missing was play. Committing to a life of play is what led Gary to discover his passion for facilitating. Gary uses the power of applied improvisation and other playful methods to assist people in unlocking creativity, confidence, and better communication. Gary was recently featured as one of the Top 100 HR influencers of 2021 by the Engagedly HR software platform. When Gary isn't leading workshops or speaking, you can find him learning magic or off on an adventure with his wife Courtney and son Garrett.   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Pam and Jim are nudists who live in Florida and have been exploring non-monogamy together since they met about three years ago.   Jim is 83 and started exploring his sexuality a few years ago and identifies as a pansexual who loves crossdressing! He leans more towards the polyamorous side of things.   Pam is 69 and enjoys things a bit more casual. She identifies as the monogamous half of their mono-poly dynamic.   However, it's not so simple... Pam and Jim go to orgies together every few weeks and have an absolute blast! During this conversation they share with us how they ended up starting to explore non-monogamy in their sixties and seventies, and why it was the right time for each of them. They also dig into challenges they have faced along the way and how much closer swinging together has brought them. This interview is absolutely incredible, as are Pam and Jim. Enjoy!   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

This conversation with Anna is amazing in so many ways! They have been exploring non-monogamy and polyamory for over 12 years after coming from a background of serial monogamy and codependency. They're super honest and transparent about the work that had to be done there to show up in a more authentic way. We also have a great conversation about control in relationships that is quite impactful.   Anna is also the President of Atlanta Polyamory and the owner of Love Positive Counseling. They're passionate about providing a safe space for individuals, couples, poly units, and families to find their innate potential and achieve their dreams, regardless of gender, orientation, race, religion, or love-style. They feel called to help people find internal and external peace by living and loving more authentically.   Anna's experience includes 19+ years practicing BDSM, 12+ years loving polyamorously, and 9+ years of gender exploration. They received their Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Kennesaw State University and a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Argosy University (Atlanta). They also received their LPC license in 2018 and my CPCS in 2020.   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

CJ and her husband have been together for over 18 years, she has kids, a great job... She had it all. But, as she described it, she had it all and had a bit of a "mid-life crisis" around age 30! For the last few years, she and her husband have been slowly opening their relationship. During this wonderful conversation she shares the whole story along with some amazing strategies for how they approach difficult conversations, navigating boundaries, and bringing intentionality back to your relationship. She also leaks some spoilers for her new book "Into The Open." Enjoy this fantastic interview and then go grab a copy of her book!   Check out the full show notes here. Click here to learn about our upcoming in-person events! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/