Polyamorous Relationship Summary And Analysis

Every counsellor has a stuck point, something that they have a very difficult time dealing with in some form or another. In my case, a stuck point for me occurs when working with individuals interested in pursuing a polyamorous relationship. I do have some biases when it comes to clients discussing this issue, although I believe that most these biases stem from a personal experience of mine. The biases are an issue in and of themselves, and I believe that these biases will cause several other issues to appear if I choose to work with a polyamorous person. With the right experiences, I think that the biases can dissipate over time (although I’m doubtful that I’ll ever be completely comfortable with it, being personally unable to imagine doing …show more content…
In my mind, this does not mean I must like what the client is doing at all, I just need to give effective advice and guidance on that issue. I need to be calm and focused to do that. So, I feel that if I expose myself to situations (podcasts, books, etc.) where people talk about poly relationships, I can slowly desensitize myself and disassociate it from my past experiences. Speaking from a trauma perspective, I must realize that my mind is trying to protect itself from further pain by preventing me from being around similar experiences. To drop the barrier, I should note exactly what my brain does to protect me (e.g., getting upset, pushing unwanted people away). Once that happens, I can focus on that inner fear and work through it, accept that people have their own worldviews. I can hopefully begin to understand that by me being their therapist, I can do much more help than harm if I get past this, and give plenty of people direction and a safe place to discuss taboo topics. If I can get a client to talk about their polyamorous wants, I can have a client talk about many other topics that may be affecting them- if they can speak to me about something very personal, they can talk to me about similar highly-sensitive topics. If I show tolerance of what they want to do, then I can treat them much better. Yes, a client might want to have an open relationship, but they are still a person- they have anxiety, fears, and pent-up emotions to deal with, all things I’d be more than happy to deal with. All I must do is get over one hurdle, and my clients can get proper treatment. I may not like everything they do (which is the same with family, I realize), but they still deserve to be given the right tools to deal with