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2023 Initiatives

The Committee on CNM is a diverse group of psychologists, researchers, mental and medical health professionals, legal scholars, educators, and graduate students volunteering their time to further the advancement of CNM within the field of psychology and beyond. Our current initiatives are related to three broad areas:

Research 

  • Special Calls (Project Leads: Roberto Abreu, Ph.D., Daniel Cardoso, Ph.D.): Organize special calls (e.g., journal issues, conference symposia) related to CNM.

  • Intersecting Identities (Project Leads: Bill Johnson, Psy.D.& Christopher Stults, Ph.D.): Conduct research on the issues facing individuals engaged in CNM with multiple marginalized identities.

  • Family & Legal Issues (Project Leads: Eli Sheff, Ph.D., Sara De Rivas, Ph.D. & Kaiponnanea Matsmura, J.D.): Conduct research addressing legal and discrimination issues related to CNM, such as the effects of stigma and the implications for family law.

Psychological Practice 

  • Inclusive Clinical Policy & Practice (Project Leads: Heath Schechinger, Ph.D. & Amy Moors, Ph.D.): Create a resource to highlight inclusive clinical practices and policies related to equity and inclusion for people engaged in CNM.

Education and Outreach

  • Inclusive Education (Project Leads: Michelle Vaughan, Ph.D. & Sharon Flicker, Ph.D.): Create an open-access database of educational resources (e.g., slide decks, handouts, learning activities) related to CNM for educator (e.g., professors, health professionals) use. Advocate for the inclusion of CNM in related educational materials and textbooks (e.g., counseling psychology textbooks).

  • CNM Literature & Archives (Project Leads: Daniel Cardoso, Ph.D., Bri Watson, MLS, & Heath Schechinger, Ph.D.): Create and support databases designed to summarize and index research and historic CNM literature.

  • LGBTQIA+ Resources (Project Leads: Jennifer Arter, Ph.D., Liz McConnell, Ph.D., Madison Smith, Psy.D., Ellora Vilkin, M.S.): Create empirically-based resources addressing the intersection of CNM and LGBTQIA identities and promote CNM representation in LGBTQIA resources.

  • Healthcare Policy (Project Leads: Heath Schechinger, Ph.D. & Rachel Anne Kieran, Ph.D.): Dedicated to collaborating with healthcare organizations to promote policies informed by empirical research on consensual non-monogamy (CNM). Our efforts will focus on collaborating with these organizations to develop resources to adapt position statements related to CNM with the overarching goal of contributing to and enhancing the broader discourse on inclusive healthcare policy.

  • Diverse Sexualities and CNM (Project Leads: Lori Beth Bisbey, Ph.D., Molly Young, MSW & Katherine King, Psy.D.): Create an empirically-based workshop and/or resource addressing the intersection of CNM and diverse sexualities.

Leadership

The Div 44 Committee on CNM is co-chaired by Amy C. Moors, Ph.D. and Heath A. Schechinger, Ph.D.


To download a PDF version of the Committee on CNM Mission, Initiatives, and Leadership click here.


This is an official website of the Committee on Consensual Non-monogamy, Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, Division 44 of the American Psychological Association. All content and views expressed on this site do not represent the position of the American Psychological Association or any of its other Divisions or subunits.