When your relationship structure is not the problem, but something still feels off
You and your partners have done the work. You have had the conversations, set the agreements, and committed to building something intentional. And yet something is not working the way you hoped.
Ethical non-monogamy counseling supports adults in open, polyamorous, and non-traditional relationship structures who are dealing with real relationship challenges, not questions about whether their structure is valid. Power Talk Therapy offers this work online to adults across California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Irvine, and beyond. Sessions are conducted via a secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform. I, Maya Attia, hold active California licensure as LMFT #139693 and bring a sex-positive, kink-allied approach to every session. A free consultation is available to get started.
What actually brings people in
The issues that surface in ethically non-monogamous relationships are often the same ones any couple faces: communication that breaks down under pressure, jealousy that is harder to manage than expected, one person’s needs consistently going unmet, or trust that eroded after something went sideways.
What is different is the context. The agreements you made with each other matter. The specific dynamics between multiple partners matter. And the fact that most therapists have no real framework for these matters more than people expect.
Trying to work through these things with someone who keeps circling back to whether you should reconsider your structure is exhausting. That is not what happens here.
What the work actually looks like
My approach to ethical non-monogamy is sex-positive and kink-allied, and I work with polyamorous, open, and non-traditional relationship structures without treating the structure itself as the problem to solve.
Sessions can include one partner, multiple partners together, or a combination depending on what you are working through. The focus stays on the real issue: communication patterns, boundary clarity, jealousy and security, trust after a rupture, or the particular tension that comes when one person is more experienced with non-monogamy than another.
If you and your partners are also working through challenges that go beyond structure, my work in couples counseling covers the full range of what relationships bring in, from communication patterns to trust repair to intimacy.
You do not need to be in crisis to come in
Clients often come in at a turning point: an agreement that got broken, a metamour situation that is creating friction, or a transition in relationship structure that no one quite prepared for. Just as often, people come in because they want to build something strong before problems develop.
Preventive relationship work in non-monogamous structures is genuinely useful. The more partners involved, the more opportunities for misalignment, and having a space to work through that proactively tends to pay off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the therapist try to talk me out of being non-monogamous?
No. A therapist working from an affirming framework treats your relationship structure as a given, not a variable to renegotiate. The work focuses on what is actually causing distress, whether that is communication, jealousy, agreements that are not holding, or something else. If a therapist’s approach makes you feel like you need to justify your relationship structure before the real work begins, that is not the right fit.
I feel jealous even though I agreed to this. Does that mean something is wrong?
No, jealousy in ethically non-monogamous relationships is common, and feeling it does not mean non-monogamy is wrong for you or that you have failed. Jealousy often points to something underneath it: a need that is not being met, a fear that has not been named, or an agreement that is not actually working as written. Therapy can help you understand what your jealousy is telling you, rather than treating it as evidence that your structure is broken.
What if my partners are at different stages of openness to this kind of relationship?
This comes up often, and it is absolutely something therapy can hold. Asymmetry in experience, comfort level, or enthusiasm for non-monogamy creates real friction, and that friction deserves specific attention rather than a generic couples framework. Sessions can be structured to include different combinations of partners depending on what each stage of the work requires.
Ready when you are
You deserve a therapist who already understands your relationship before you walk in. The first step is a conversation. You can book a free consultation to ask questions, get a feel for the fit, and decide together whether to move forward.