Non-monogamy is often talked about in terms of values, skills, and best practices, but lived experience is frequently messier, funnier, and more awkward than the guides prepare us for.
This playful, story-forward panel invites panelists to share the real-life moments of non-monogamy that didn’t go as planned: miscommunications, scheduling chaos, emotional faceplants, unexpected growth, and the situations that are only funny in hindsight. Through humor, honesty, and compassion, this session normalizes imperfection and highlights how resilience, repair, and self-awareness often grow out of discomfort.
Attendees can expect laughter, recognition, and a reminder that learning non-monogamy is a deeply human process and that messing up doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.
*Panel* Polyamory IRL
The Stuff We Laugh About Now (But Cried About Then)
Friday, May 1st
12:15 pm
Room: Chandler
Christy Song, LMFT (she/they) is a Clinical Director, educator, and therapist specializing in trauma-informed care for queer, polyamorous, and relationship-diverse communities. With over 15 years of lived and professional experience in polyamory and relationship anarchy, Christy brings a deeply decolonial, systemic, and strengths-based approach to healing.
They teach and supervise clinicians in working with dissociation, trauma, crisis, and complex relational systems, blending EMDR training, somatic grounding, and culturally responsive care. Christy is passionate about expanding access to affirming mental health services and supporting communities that have historically been overlooked or marginalized.
Their work focuses on helping people reclaim safety, pleasure, and connection—within themselves, their relationships, and their communities.
Kaylee Talia (she/her) is a sociology professor with a doctorate in education and nearly three decades of experience exploring the intersections of identity, community, and culture. Involved in the polyamory community since the mid-1990s, she brings both personal insight and academic grounding to conversations about non-monogamy, relational ethics, and social structures. Kaylee is also a long time Dungeons & Dragons player and dedicated game weaver, using collaborative storytelling to examine relationships, power, and the imaginative possibilities of shared worlds.
Heather Hillenbrand, LMFT, (she/her) owner and therapist at Soul Fire Sex and Relationship Therapy, is a certified sex therapist specializing in ethical nonmonogamy, desire differences, sexual trauma, orgasm, eroticism, BDSM/kink, and more. Heather is also an author and a speaker. She offers sex education classes and workshops for the general public as well as specialized training for therapists. Find reach her at [email protected]