Navigating Relationships
No matter which industry you work in or what you do, finding and maintaining relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be tough. Intensify this with the complications and unique stressors of working in the adult industry and the prospect can not only appear daunting, but almost impossible.
While need for human connection appears to be innate, the ability to form healthy, loving relationships is learned. Finding a partner with whom to share a life is a wonderful but frequently difficult process. Whether it’s conducted online or in-person, the search will likely push an individual into unfamiliar settings to encounter potential partners. To be successful, it is often necessary to go outside of one’s comfort zone.
Join us on August 25th and 26th when Pineapple Support will be hosting a two day event where our licenced therapists and counselors hope to provide you with the knowledge and skills to successfully navigate a variety of relationships, including the most important one, the one you have with yourself.
With Thanks to our sponsors
‘Healing From Codependency’ with Ivy Kwong
Codependency is a response to trauma that happens in
relationship with others. If we had our needs and feelings denied in
childhood, we can give them up in adulthood in order to prioritize the
needs and feelings of another over our own. Like all coping mechanisms
that help us stay alive, it works until it stops working, potentially
becoming more harmful than helpful. In this presentation, we will
discuss the roots of codependency and how it may be addressed, tended
to, and healed.
Ivy Kwong, LMFT (she/her) is a second-generation Asian American,
queer, middle-class, able-bodied, spiritual, kink-friendly,
sex-positive therapist. She is a survivor of childhood and sexual
abuse and assault, a certified yoga instructor, a retired Professional
Dominatrix, stepmother of five children between the ages of 8-19, a
life coach, speaker, artist, and author who holds all of these
identities equally with great love and gratitude. She offers
trauma-informed and social justice-minded therapy and coaching to her
clients. Her specialties include healing from trauma and codependency,
first- and second-generation Asian American mental health, and
navigating major life transitions and relationships.
Her website is BareIvy.com and her social media handle (IG, Twitter, FaceBook,
Youtube, Medium) is: @BareIvy
‘Relationship Diversities’ with Silva Neves
Relationships are often thought about through the lens of heteronormativity. Many people have relationships but it can be difficult for people to embrace the kind of relationships they feel happiest in because of unhelpful myths. In fact, people enjoy multiple ways to be in relationships.
This presentation will cover:
1- An overview of the common types of different relationships
2- The difference between choosing a relationship and a relational orientation
3- An overview on attachment styles
4- Re-thinking the concept of love
Silva Neves is a COSRT-accredited and UKCP-registered psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist and author. He is a Pink Therapy Clinical Associate.
Silva is also a COSRT-accredited clinical supervisor and he is a Course Director for CICS (Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology).
He often contributes to articles on various sex and relationship topics and speaks internationally.
https://www.silvaneves.co.uk
www.sexpositivityUK.com
Facebook: Silva Neves – Psychotherapy
Twitter: @SilvaNeves3
Instagram: @silvanevespsychotherapy
‘Communication from the HART’ with Nicki Line
Communication is an important of any relationship romantic or platonic. Let’s face it some of us are not good at it for various reasons. Therapist Nicki will teach you the basis of healthy communication using the Harmony Arion Relationship Tools. Learn skills about listening and asking to get needs met in relationships.
Wendi “Nicki” Line is a licensed mental health counselor with extensive training in clinical sexology and addiction combined with experience counseling in the inpatient and private practice settings. She is Kink Aware, Poly Friendly, and works with the LGBTQ+ communities. Wendi is the Vice President of the Sanctuary Center and an instructor at the International Academy of Collaborative Counseling and Coaching Education (IACCCE), in Tampa, Florida.
‘Is Non-Monogamy for Me?’ with Melissa LeSane
Valuable in-depth self-reflections for considering non-monogamy in your life.
Melissa works with individuals, intimate partners and other relational groups who want to focus on relationship and sexuality issues.
She values and inspires intentionality, creativity and pleasure in relationships. She enjoys working with folx that are curious about non-monogamy and those who are currently in non-monogamous relationships. She’s passionate about working with people of color in exploring and navigating non-monogamy.
As a sex-positive therapist, she enthusiastically affirms and seeks to work with those within the LGBTQ+, kink, BDSM, sex work and open-relating communities. Her strength is to personally connect with you through playfulness, compassion and curiosity, that will hopefully feel safe and encouraging for you to explore Self and how you relate with others. She values vulnerability and intentionality, and her presence is empathic, supportive, creative and embracing of life’s nuances.
Please reach out if you have any questions or curiosities about working with Melissa, that she can address with you.
www.melissalesane.com
‘Relationships in the Industry – Reinvention’ with Rachael Wells
Roundtable discussion with; Nick Fitt, King Noire, Jet Setting Jasmine, Kacy TGirl and Lotus Lain
There are a plethora of relationships in the adult industry: acquaintances, friendships, and romances both in and outside the industry. We will cover how these relationships can strengthen beyond society’s expectations and how to come to a sense of safety amongst civilians and industry workers alike.
Rachael is an empathetic, driven, passionate individual and leader who provides high quality, person-centered therapy from acceptance and commitment therapy, EMDR AIP, mindfulness, self-compassion, internal family systems, and strengths-based models.
Rachael is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in the state of Florida and holds the title of EMDR approved therapist. Rachael is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200).
Rachael works with populations that include people dealing with acute sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual abuse, low self-compassion, low impulse control, those with borderline personality disorder, the sex worker community, and the transgender community. Their specific specialty is trauma within marginalized communities.
‘Defining Your Needs in a Relationship’ with Alex Mufson
Do you feel like you are dating the wrong sort of person…on repeat? Are you endlessly swiping but the matches never get better? Learn how to define how a relationship can serve you, manifest the partner that will do that and learn action based tips for how to find that person using an online dating platform.
Alex loves working with people who are ready to elevate their lives. “Our time together supports you to first define what an intentional life looks like for you, and then to create an actionable path to get there.”
Specialties: Relationships, Intimate Partner Violence, Identity, Trauma, Health, Chronic Illness, Life transition, Attachment, Intentionality Coaching, Anxiety, Depression, Parenting.
‘Hot Crossed Boundaries’ with Emily Richman
“How to Use Healthy Boundaries to Improve Work, Life, and Relationships”
We will be busting boundary and communication myths and learning skills to help us set and maintain healthy boundaries.
About Emily “As a counselor I am eclectic in my approach. I am trauma informed and have experience with grief work, body liberation, and boundary setting. I am sex positive, weight neutral, and continue my work to decolonize my practice. I love an opportunity to help clients navigate and process the barriers they experience in order to thrive.”
‘Relationships After Trauma’ with Shea Graham
Attend this workshop to learn how trauma can impact relationship building. Receive detailed guidance to cope with trauma using CBT and Polyvagal techniques.
About Shea “I love therapy because I believe it is the perfect problem-solving option for people searching for a confidential and effective support system outside of family and friends. My approach to therapy is highly structured, evidence-based, and comprehensive.”
I am a licensed psychotherapist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. I help people to cope with anxiety and depression. I earned my bachelor’s degree from The University of Virginia, my master’s degree from Columbia University, and my post-graduate certificates from Harvard Medical School in meditation and mindfulness and New York State Psychiatric Institute. I am a certified clinical trauma specialist and clinical social worker. Since 2010, I’ve worked in a variety of clinical settings including family centers, methadone clinics, drug rehabilitation centers, and universities. In 2020, I volunteered as a workgroup leader with the Charlottesville Community Investment Collaborative. I currently supervise graduate students at Fordham University, Arizona State University, Ohio State University, and Tulane University as part of a field practicum program.
‘Loving Yourself’ with Wendy Haggerty
Do you know the difference between loneliness and being alone? Being alone and enjoying your own company is a sign of good mental health. When you are alone, do you always have your social media or music on for distraction? Can you tolerate silence or does your anxiety go up? In this “Loving Yourself” presentation we will discuss slowing down and make room in your life for your inner life. Learning to establish trust in yourself, accepting yourself, accepting your life, accepting your feelings. Don’t betray yourself…practice loving kindness every day. Learn to be present in your own feelings and needs. Remember…everything you want lies on the other side of developing healthy self-love and learning to trust yourself.
About Wendy “Want to grow in your personal life and relationships? I work with individuals, partners and couples on a variety of issues related to love, sex and relationships. I am a clinical sexologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, certified hypnotherapist and AASECT-certified sex therapist & supervisor.
Some of my specialties include women’s empowerment, desire discrepancy, divorce transitions, infertility, anxiety and codependency. I practice from an integrative approach utilizing IMAGO, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Hypnotherapy and Systemic Sex Therapy.”
‘Red Flags’ with Alex Mufson
Roundtable discussion with; Nikki Night, Justine Cross, Wesley Woods, Melrose Michaels and Dirty Drizzy
A panel discussing how to spot red flags at the beginning of a relationship, what to do when you see one, and how to keep yourself safe as you end a relationship because of them. Particular attention to industry specific red flags and how to navigate romantic relationships within the sex work industry.
Alex loves working with people who are ready to elevate their lives. “Our time together supports you to first define what an intentional life looks like for you, and then to create an actionable path to get there.”
Specialties: Relationships, Intimate Partner Violence, Identity, Trauma, Health, Chronic Illness, Life transition, Attachment, Intentionality Coaching, Anxiety, Depression, Parenting.
With thanks to;
