Origins - a group of like-minded professionals meet

Kink and Polyamory Aware Chicago Therapists group supports knowledge and connection

By Essie Shachar-Hill, LCSW and Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D

On a warm summer evening in 2014, over forty clinicians gathered at a networking event for therapists of kinky and polyamorous clients in Chicago. As the late day sun streamed in, the group mingled over drinks and appetizers in the office of LifeWorks Psychotherapy Center, the host for the evening. There was a feeling of excitement, warmth, and connection.

Anchor on rock

The Importance of the Therapist’s Attachment Style

Santiago Delboy, MBA, LCSW, S-PSB, is a colleague and friend of KPACT, who brings insight and thoughtfulness to his work and collaboration. We are pleased to share some of his writing. This post appears in Santiago Delboy’s blog, which can be found here. I believe attachment theory provides a fundamental framework to understand the issues our clients bring to

Challenges in Polyamorous Relationships: Agreements, Negotiations, and Contracts

This is the fifth in a series of articles about the intersections of polyamorous identities and psychotherapy, adapted from Rami Henrich and Cindy Trawinski’s article in Sexual and Relationship Therapy, “Social and therapeutic challenges facing polyamorous clients,” as well as supplemental materials that didn’t make it into the final research paper. In this installment, we

The Conflict with Conflict in Polyam Relationships

by Cindy Trawinski, PsyD Ever had conflict? Most people have had more conflict than they care to recall. Conflict is important to everyone and every relationship but when you are in a multi-partnered relationship good conflict skills become even more critical. On May 6, 2017, Rami Henrich, LCSW and I presented a workshop on applying

How Do Polyamorists Identify Themselves?

by Rami Henrich, LCSW & Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D. This is the second in a series of articles about the intersections of polyamorous identities and psychotherapy, adapted from our article in Sexual and Relationship Therapy, “Social and therapeutic challenges facing polyamorous clients” (Henrich & Trawinski 2016). In this installment, we provide an overview of Rami’s research findings, which uncover

Polyam Relationship Escalator — 1st Annual Chicago Non-Monogamy Conference

by Elizabeth Duke, PsyD I had such a blast attending the first ever Chicago Non-Monogamy Conference! The day was a whirl of shared wisdom, friendly faces, and excited energy. Josephine Kearns, co-founder of Chicago Polyam Cocktails, and I had the honor of sharing a model we created to help people construct the non-monogamy version of

8 Ways to Take Action Against Islamophobia

by Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D. Prejudice, stereotyping, bias—however we understand these tendencies and attitudes, we can learn to identify, confront, wrestle with, accept, and change them within ourselves. Sometimes, however, doing so is possible only with great difficulty. Discrimination takes many forms, including harassment, bullying, hate speech, and scapegoating. Such behaviors put others at risk, cause