Opening Up:
Non Monogamy 101

A somatic-informed and trauma-sensitive workshop for those new to exploring consensual non monogamy.

LIVE WORKSHOP
SUN MARCH 1st
10am Pacific/1pm Eastern

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Maybe you've been yearning for it.
Maybe you've been fantasizing about it.
Maybe, you're just curious about what it could be like for you.

Or, maybe you've stumbled into it because you started falling for someone who told you, "I don't do monogamy."

Whatever has brought you to want to learn how to do non-monogamy, this workshop will help you orient to your what, your why, and to craft a vision for where you want non-monogamy to take you.

"After the workshop I felt like I could breathe again. I felt like my version of non-monogamy wasn't "wrong" and, even more helpful, my former partners wasn't either. I connected with people thinking of the same things as I was, struggling with the same things, and asking questions like me. I cried. I breathed. And for the first time in my life I didn't feel like a love alien dropped onto this planet."
~ Past Workshop Participant

This workshop exists because there's only so much you can learn about honest non-monogamy from a book or online discussion forum.

Few books on polyamory manage to speak to the full spectrum of non-monogamous experiences, many discussion forums are dominated by drama and gate-keeping, and very little information exists out there (so far) about trauma-informed approaches to honest non-monogamy.

That's why this is the course for anyone new to polyamory, considering an open relationship, or looking to refresh their approach to non-monogamy.

In the live workshop, published author and relationship coach Mel Cassidy, SEP™, will guide you through both the practical parts of getting started in non-monogamy, the questions you need to be asking yourself and your partner(s), as well as tools to support you through the inevitable bumps along the way.

Post-workshop resources, including a workbook and dating guide, will help you consolidate your learning and guide you through your journey into open relationships.

This workshop is a space to get messy, real, and honest about what you want. You'll get to ask your questions, meet other folks exploring non-monogamy, hear new perspectives, and come away with a clear sense of what kinds of open relationships are going to work for you, why non-monogamy is what you want, and a vision for where you'd like it to go in the long term.

This workshop is being offered at $60 Canadian Dollars (about $43 US Dollars or 38 Euros).

As always, I'm committed to financial accessibility.

Use the code LOWINCOME to receive a 15% discount (for folks whose income is reduced or below a living wage where they live).
Use the code STUDENT to receive a 30% discount (for folks enrolled in school and/or experiencing extreme financial hardship).

Those who are able to pay more help me off-set my costs and keep this work financially accessible to everyone who needs it!

PLEASE REGISTER AS INDIVIDUALS, NOT AS COUPLES OR GROUPS, THANKYOU!

  • What We Cover:
  • Motivations for Non Monogamy
  • Common fears about venturing into Non-Monogamy
  • Different forms of Non-Monogamy
  • Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn responses to open relating
  • Long-term possibilities for Non-Monogamous Relationships
  • Best Practices to ensure you don't replicate Monogamous pitfalls
  • The conversations to have with partners and loved ones
Thank you Mel for such an enlightening and helpful workshop! I thoroughly enjoyed all of it and look forward to continued learning from you. So grateful for all these extra resources.
The work you are doing is changing the world in such positive ways, and helping people change their own worlds, both inner and outer.
past workshop participant

Live Workshop Agenda

The workshop will be on Sunday March 1st, 10am-1:30pm Pacific Time (1pm-3:30pm Eastern, 7-10:30pm Central European). 
All timings are approximate, and exact content is subject to change.

10:00am        Somatic Arrival & Introduction
                     The Mythology of Monogamy
                     Relational Safety — what is it really?
                      Motivations in seeking Non-Monogamy
                      Facing Fears in Opening Up
                      Different Forms of Non-Monogamy

11:45am        ~ 15 min break ~

12noon          How Do We Actually Do Non-Monogamy?
                      The Monogamy Hangover
                       Understanding Your Personal Capacity
                       Conversations To Have
                       Visions For Your Future
                       Crafting Your North Star

Bonus Materials

Workshop Recording

The live workshop on March 1st will be recorded. An edited version will be available to review one week later.

Thriving In Non Monogamy Workbook

Consolidate your learnings in the workshop with this unique workbook

Dating Guide Ebook

A guide on everything from writing a dating profile, where to meet non-monogamous people, and how to navigate your first few dates.

Why I created this workshop

Many years ago, before I was a coach, I was a blogger, and I started offering short workshops on non-monogamy for free at local events and music festivals.  What started as small gatherings grew into full-day workshops, and then into multiple workshops.

Over the years, I've returned to the curriculum for this 101 workshop and improved it. My goal is simple: to create an interactive experience that benefits anyone considering non-monogamy, new to exploring it, and looking for a trauma-sensitive approach. 

It is my hope that people who are dipping their toes into non-monogamy can have the resources and support they need to make informed choices, and that they can get started with a trauma-aware mindset from the very beginning of their journey. In short, I want folks to have the resources I didn't have when I was starting!

I hope that this new incarnation of the workshop, including the workbook and dating guide, will offer a comprehensive gateway into open relating for anyone seeking an honest, collaborative, trauma-sensitive, and somatically grounded approach to non-monogamy

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praise from other courses

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you SO MUCH for the absolutely illuminating, grounding and mind blowing session last night. I can't wait to integrate the awareness that emerged yesterday.
Your work is profound! Thank you so much!
WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
VANCOUVER CANADA
This was one of the best workshops I have taken regarding polyamory and trauma informed agreements in twenty-five plus years of seeking to develop skills within myself and relationships.

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
SEATTLE, USA
[This course] has been such a landmark in my life. You rock!
I've been able to articulate and communicate much better within my relationships and to create safe spaces.
Workshop Participant,
Ireland
This was my first polyam-related workshop, and I really loved it. Mel was an excellent facilitator: welcoming, knowledgeable, professional, well defined boundaries at beginning, knew when to stay on a subject and when to move on, etc. I was incredibly impressed and would love to attend more

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT
I LOVE how you organize your rich information. You also have a knack for setting up a really safe, thoughtful, reflective container for learning... your teaching brings together an amazing community of courageous humans that gather to learn and practice trauma-informed relating with ourselves and others!Sunday's class was a deeply nourishing in ways I didn't know I missed / needed. 
WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
VANCOUVER, CANADA
Your workshop was SO helpful and amazing. THANK YOU! Magnificent and earth-moving! Like moving things that have felt stuuuuuck!


WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
PORTLAND, USA
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