We recently received an email from a research asking for our assistance recruiting research participants. We are sharing this information with you, our community, in case it pertains to you. ​Please note that the co-investigator is a member of the polyamorous community.

We are working on a research project that examines communication with a committed partner about extradyadic sexual encounters (i.e., sex with someone other than a primary partner, life partner, nesting partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc.).

If you are...
1) 18 years or older and
2) currently in a self-defined committed consensually non-monogamous relationship with at least one partner (e.g., primary partner, nesting partner, life partner) and
3) have disclosed information about an extradyadic sexual encounter in the past six months
... you are eligible to voluntarily participate.

As incentive for your participation in this study, you may choose to be entered in a raffle to win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards.

This anonymous online survey will take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete and is conducted by co-investigator R. E. Purtell and principal investigator Dr. Megan R. Dillow from WVU’s Department of Communication Studies in 113 Armstrong Hall, P.O. Box 6293, Morgantown, WV, 26505.

If you wish to participate in this voluntary research study, you can follow the link below to learn details of the study and complete the survey. This survey will in no way identify you to your survey responses. Survey Link: https://wvu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0DGKHN8RUtLIWQC

We are thrilled to announce a new member of the Love Positive Counseling team: Coryn Murphy, M.Ed, MS!

Do you feel unseen and unheard by others in your life? Coryn understands the importance of being seen and heard and wants to help you create change in your life. Coryn believes that empathy and compassion are the catalyst for growth and change whether you are working through sexuality concerns or general anxiety, depression, and life events. Coryn creates a safe space to help clients better understand themselves and improve their relationships.

Corinne uses hypnotherapy and EMDR in her practice to help support clients who want to use their unconscious to help them create change and she uses meditation to help clients find balance and grounding in our chaotic world. Coryn is pursuing sex therapy certification training to further enhance her sex therapy skills. Coryn is an ally to the LGBTQ, kink, and polyamorous clients.

In addition to therapy, Coryn also provides meditation classes and sessions. She has been meditating for the past 15 years and enjoys using mindfulness techniques to help clients find their balance. Meditation sessions can be used in conjunction with therapy or as their own separate experience.

Coryn earned her Master in Education from Loyola University Maryland and Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The University of West Alabama. Coryn is under formal supervision of Anna Baxter, LPC, CPCS. 

Coryn is available for scheduling new clients beginning January 25, 2022! Coryn's rate is $125/hr (with some sliding scale slots available). To book your first session with Coryn, request an appointment and be sure to select Coryn as the clinician (The rate will show $200 but the cost charged at the time of your appointment will be your negotiated rate). 

To contact Coryn directly with questions or to schedule an appointment, email corynmurphyga@gmail.com or call 678 210 9907. 

I'm thrilled to share that I've been approved to present at Leather Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA on March 11-13, 2022. This conference has been an invaluable resource for myself as a kinky person, a community organizer, and leader in polyamory and kink/bdsm communities. If you're interested in nourishing continued personal growth as a person in the kink community (whether you plan to be a leader or not) I highly recommend this conference. This year the conference theme is “Resilience: Rebuild | Renew | Recharge” which speaks highly to my profession and my values. I look forward to helping this conference be an amazing experience! I'll be presenting...

• Transgender 101 for Allies and Play Partners
• Trauma and Triggers (with my dear friend Noel)

For more information about the conference, check out www.leatherleadership.org or if you'd like to skip right ahead to register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/llc-2022-tickets-95029723461 (Early Bird registration discount ends December 31st, so hurry!) 

Our friends and colleagues over at Atlanta Therapeutic Collective are offering a resource that may be helpful for our community/clients as well. Coryn Murphy is offering individual sessions as well as workshops and groups for the purpose of learning and supporting the integration of meditation practice into your life. 

She is also offering workshops on January 6th (9-11:30am) and January 15th (1-2:30pm) for just $50 per class.

Meditation has been found to help manage everyday life stressors that can lead to many medical conditions including chronic pain, anxiety and depression. Coryn will begin the class with a brief introduction of what meditation is and dispel myths about it. She will also discuss common types of meditation. She will then guide the class in a group meditation practice and help you create your own at home plan.

Coryn is a mental health therapist practicing in Decatur, Ga. She often helps clients manage their anxiety and daily life stressors through meditative practices. In addition to offering therapy services, Coryn also offers meditation classes and sessions to the public. Coryn has studied many kinds of meditation in China and Hong Kong including vipassana, Burmese style, shambala, MBSR, meta (loving kindness), chanting, breath and body awareness. She is currently enhancing her studies with the Nalanda Institute. She has been practicing meditation for 15 years.

For information about these services, go to https://www.atlantatherapeuticcollective.com/meditation and contact Atlanta Therapeutic Collective at info@atlantatherapeuticcollcetive.com

Are you a kinky person of color? You may be eligible to participate in an anonymous online survey about your experiences! This research will amplify and center the voices of kinky people of color, and results may benefit the larger community. Mina Beveney, a doctoral candidate at Widener University and Black psychotherapist, is seeking participants for a 20 to 30-minute survey that will ask about experiences of racial or ethnic discrimination, sexual self-concept, and coping.

If you are a person of color age 18 or over that has participated in in-person BDSM spaces or contexts in the United States within the past 24 months, please follow this link (https://rebrand.ly/RaceKinkSurvey) to find out more and participate. Participants may choose to enter into a drawing to win one of four $25 gift cards.

Mina Beveney is completing this dissertation research about race and discrimination within the BDSM community, including effects of discrimination on sexual self-concept, and the coping strategies that people use.  This research will amplify and center the voices of kinky people of color (KPOC), and results may provide the larger community with strategies to promote the safety and belonging of KPOC.  Additionally, the project has been formally endorsed by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC), a community advisory board of the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS). 

Have questions? Please direct all questions about this research to Mina Beveney, not Love Positive Counseling. 

Nik Lampe is a Ph.D. student in the Sociology Department at the University of South Carolina and they are conducting a research study as part of their dissertation research requirements in UofSC’s Sociology Ph.D. Program.

Specifically, they are studying the health and health care experiences of Americans 65 years and over who identify as transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, intersex, someone living with differences in sex development (DSD), or someone who identifies with a different sex or gender identity than what they were assigned at birth.

If you decide to participate, you will be asked to talk via telephone or virtually meet with Nik Lampe for an interview about your health and health care experiences. You will receive a $40 prepaid Visa debit card through the mail for participating in the study after you complete the interview.

If you would like to participate or have more questions, please follow up with Nik Lampe at (lampen@email.sc.edu or 803-881-8332 via text or telephone) to discuss participating in this study.

I recently shared on a podcast (soon to be announced) that this worksheet template I created a few years back can be incredibly helpful for understanding how our traumatic experiences effect us currently and in our relationships,  then communicate this information to the people we are in relationship with. 

If you're interested in knowing your own reactions, triggering stimuli, needs and wants, and better communicating all of that information to people who care about you... Open a Google doc then take your time to thoughtfully complete each section of this template and add anything that seems pertinent. Next share that document (viewable only) with anybody you feel comfortable enough being this vulnerable with (hopefully you have at least one person who cares about you and needs to know this stuff about you). Then invite them to ask questions for understanding and empathizing with your experiences. 

​Hello! My name is Frank Gorritz, a local community counselor in Lawrenceville, GA and a fourth-year doctoral student in the Counselor Education and Supervision program at UGA. I am reaching out to you to let you know about my dissertation research that will collaborate with Queer/Trans community members of color and provide them with paid compensation for their time. 

My dissertation research is exploring the lived experiences of Queer, Transgender, Black, and Indigenous People of Color (QTBIPOC), when receiving substance abuse counseling services in Georgia. My research plans to explore these experiences, as well as provide a safe and protected space for participants on Zoom to co-discover ways to enhance substance abuse counseling for QTBIPOC. I would love to collaborate with you on this work, through providing you with my contact flyer for community members who can/wish to participate. For participants who are interested, they will be asked to meet with me and other community members on Zoom for a two-part focus group that will last up to three hours total on one decided day and time. Alternative arrangements can also be made for folx who aren't comfortable in groups or if something comes up. $50 will be provided immediately to participants after their participation to compensate their time and labor. Let me know what you think! I would love to work with you. Attached is the flyer for more info!


Frank Gorritz, APC
Doctoral Candidate
University of Georgia

Our very own Anna Baxter was a guest on the Practicing Polyamory Podcast today discussing how personal identity is connected to autonomy. Check out episode 71: Skoliosexuality and Rewriting Autonomy On Practicing Polyamory's Youtube channel. While you're at it, follow their The Practicing Polyamory Podcast FB Page, Instagram, Twitter, and Twitch. and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube, iTunes, and/or Spotify. 

If you're ready to explore your identity and learn how to live and love more authentically, reach out to schedule an appointment with one of our counselors.