Flersamhet är ett svenskt begrepp som beskriver personer som lever polyamoröst, i öppna relationer eller på andra sätt har icke-monogama relationer med samtycke. Vårt samhälle har en väldigt stark monogaminorm som ofta påverkar personer som lever utanför den på ett negativt sätt. Den aktuella studien ämnade att ta reda på vilka erfarenheter personer som jobbar med psykologisk behandling (psykologer, psykoterapeuter och kuratorer eller liknande) har av att ha flersamma klienter i terapi eller behandlande samtal, samt vilka erfarenheter som är viktiga och betydelsefulla i behandling med flersamma klienter. Fyra psykologer intervjuades och data analyserades med reflexiv tematisk analys. Deltagarnas berättelser tyder på att utmaningen som behandlare står inför när det träffar flersamma klienter oftast gäller sig själva och sitt eget arbete, snarare än klienterna. De behöver förhålla sig till ideal kopplat till flersamhet, behandlarrollens ideal och hur de påverkas av samhällsnormer i stort och monogaminormen specifikt. Kunskap beskrivs som en av de viktigaste aspekterna och psykologerna behöver förhålla sig till vem som har ansvar över att tillräcklig och rätt kunskap ska finnas hos behandlarna. Det beskrivs även som en viktig aspekt att förhålla sig till sin professionella roll som behandlare och att reflektera över vad som är ett bra bemötande gentemot flersamma klienter. Resultatet visar att psykologens identitetsarbete är ett övergripande tema som deltagarna behöver förhålla sig till på ett eller annat sätt. / Consensual non-monogamy, CNM, describes people who are polyamorous, have open relationships or other non-monogamous relationships with consent. Our society has a strong monogamy-norm that often will affect people who do not conform to it, often in a negative way. The current study aimed to explore what experiences people who work with psychological treatment (psychologists, psychotherapists and counselors and the like) have of therapy with CNM clients, and which experience they deem important and meaningful in therapy with CNM clients. Four psychologists were interviewed, and the data was analyzed with reflexive thematic analysis. The participants' descriptions suggest that the challenge faced by psychologists primarily revolves around themselves and their own work, rather than the clients. They need to navigate ideals associated with CNM, the ideal role of the psychologist, and how they are influenced by societal norms at large, and monogamy in particular. Knowledge is identified as one of the crucial aspects and they need to navigate questions and concerns regarding who has responsibility that sufficient and appropriate knowledge is held by the psychologists. Another important aspect is to navigate their own professional role as psychologists and reflect on what constitutes positive treatment towards CNM clients. The findings indicate that the psychologist’s process of identity work is an overarching theme which the participants need to navigate in one way or another.

Background: Consensual non-monogamous couples (CNMCs) are viewed less favourably than their heteromononormative counterparts by the general population and by healthcare providers. Research indicates that they are less likely to seek health care and are at greater risk for STIs and HIV. This stigma and judgment perceived by CNMCs can be even further compounded when these couples choose to have a child. No study to date has looked at consensual non-monogamous parenting couples (CNMPCs) during the transition to parenthood. The aim of the present study was to explore Manitoban CNMCs’ perceptions of the conciliation between their parenting role and their sexual lifestyle during the transition to parenthood. Methodology: This mixed methods descriptive, exploratory study used a triangulation design-convergence model. Six participants identifying as CNMCs during the transition to parenthood were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide as well as completing an online questionnaire. Results: The participants in this sample experienced challenges in regard to their transition to parenthood as many other parents do, yet this transition was more harmonious for some participants compared to others. Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) was a sexual lifestyle chosen either before or during this transition. However, the lifestyle did stop during conception and pregnancy, and was resumed several months after childbirth. Relationship breakdown may occur, but not necessarily associated with CNM. The conciliation of parenting and sexual roles is facilitated when communication and intimacy are present between partners. Participants emphasized the importance of family before their chosen sexual lifestyle. The relationship with health care providers is critical for participants of CNM as it impacts how they seek health care or disclose their lifestyle. This is more important during the transition to parenthood as more challenges can be present. Three phases that CNMCs pass through were also identified, contemplation, acting and incorporation, to integrate CNM as a lifestyle. Discussion: These findings permitted a closer look at the conciliation of the parenting role and the sexual lifestyle of CNMPCs during their transition to parenthood. These findings demonstrated not only how CNMPCs were similar and different from participants in other studies, but also highlighted how they were uniquely distinct. This distinction appears to stem from a certain resilience gained from the three phases of the incorporation of CNM as a lifestyle that appears to buffer these couples in situations of stress. A new proposed model, CNMPCs’ Model of Resilience during the Incorporation of CNM as a Lifestyle While Parenting, is suggested. There is a need for more psychosexual education for perinatal nurses in regard to sexuality minorities such as CNMPCs in the context of the transition to parenthood.

My research explores what laws, such as laws surrounding immigration, child custody, and divorce, negatively affect polyamorous individuals in the U.S. and how people's perceptions of barriers differ along lines of gender-sexual-racial-class identities. My applied research is conducted for my client, a CNM-friendly attorney in D.C. I investigate the experience of polyamorous people that use lawyers they perceive as consensually non-monogamous (CNM)-friendly. I probe what it means to be "CNM-friendly," how one promotes oneself as a CNM-friendly lawyer to potential clients and the world at large, and the relationship between being a CNM-friendly lawyer and activism.

In the United States, people are encouraged and even coerced by social forces to behave and interact according to rigid social mores that tend to privilege individuals from a specific gender, racial, and class backgrounds. As many theorists have stated, sexual, gender, and racial minorities navigate their lives experiencing oppression at different levels and at the intersections of different systems of inequality. The marginal social location of these identities often results in people re-defining the social meanings through which they construct their social lives. Although much research has been devoted to investigating the different ways in which people resist the dominant social order, research on polyamory is still highly unexplored. According to the studied population, polyamory is a form of ethical non-monogamy that promotes egalitarian relationships among all parties involved. According to Dr. Mimi Shippers, "poly sexualities offers an opportunity to reorient […] gender and race relations" (2016:4). In this study, I collected data from nine semi-structured interviews that shine light upon how people in polyamorous relationships engage in the reorientation of gender relations. By looking at reported communication strategies between polyamorous individuals, this study found that the social location of marginalized sexual and gender identities fosters a sense of solidarity through which people redefine the meaning in their interactions as they inform people's identity. Nevertheless, these dynamics result in the resistance of some aspects of the dominant social order and the reproduction of others.

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