Open Love Forum
Practicing Communication Together
Open Love Forum is an inclusive community space for learning and growth in consensually non-monogamous relationships. We host interactive workshops for practicing connective communication, conscious consent, and developing secure attachment.
Our Core Values
Community Care and Collaboration
We believe community care can be like having a chosen family, where members are closely connected and support each other.
Compassion and Empathy
Willingness to listen and understand with open-hearted curiosity, both with each other and for ourselves
Community Agreements
Our community agreements are adapted from the Authentic Relating Movement. We ask our members to agree to these as guidelines for connection and safety in the community. Click below to expand each section to read about how we Honor Self and Honor Others:
Honor Self
Take care of your needs.
Personal boundaries are welcomed and encouraged. Please take care of your needs, and ask for support.
Be authentic.
We welcome your authenticity, vulnerability, and your unique perspective.
You are at choice.
Please engage with what feels good and disengage when needed. Take care of yourself first.
Honor Others
Prioritize Empathy.
Our community is focused on creating an environment with values of mutual understanding, compassion, community care, curiosity, and interdependence. These are built on the foundation of consent.
Self-Responsibility: Own Your Experience.
We want to hear what you've learned, and your contributions are valuable. And it is much more connective to share about how YOU personally relate to the content rather than universal truths. Instead of things like "we need to remember..." or "it's important to..." consider rephrasing into things like "I want to remember" and "it's important to me to...."
Check Your Assumptions.
When interacting, lean into curiosity and check your assumptions. Please make a purposeful attempt to see and understand the experiences of your fellow community members.
Honor Confidentiality.
Don't share anyone's posts or content without explicit permission.
We believe in transformative justice. We're here to make mistakes and grow with you as a community
How To Join
New faces are welcome! Here are some ways to join our community or check out an event:
You can view our events on Eventbrite (and click Follow to get updates).
You are welcome to join the Discord community where we post announcements! There are also multiple group chats for topic discussion, sharing resources, and celebrating wins.
Add our events directly to your calendar using this embedded calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these events virtual or in person?
Most of our workshops are hybrid events, so you can choose to attend in-person in Winter Park, FL, or virtually via Zoom from anywhere in the world. If you're hanging out with us in person, feel free to stay for music, snacks, and mingling after the workshop ends!
Some events will be in-person only, in Winter Park, Florida.
How often do you host events?
We host about two hybrid workshops per month, usually a Monday and a Wednesday. The socials are sometimes on Sundays.
What should I bring?
If attending virtually: something to write with.
If attending in person: something to write with, and maybe drinks/snacks if you want to share! (totally optional)
What is the cost of attending?
Most events are donation based, with a suggested donation of $10. Some events are ticketed, and we always offer a sliding scale.
Is this group therapy?
Open Love Forum is not a therapy support group and though we may cover topics related to personal wellbeing and mental health, anything discussed in the group does not serve as medical or therapeutic advice.
Some Previous Events
We're excited to host these because we have seen significant growth and deepening of our relationships with self and others as a direct result of studying connective communication. We hope to share this growth with others and to deepen our own learning as we explore it together.
Contact Us
We love hearing questions, comments, feedback, and requests. Don't hesitate to email Ess and Amy at openloveforum@gmail.com.
Your Hosts
Ess Fortunato (they/them)
Ess has a passion for community building that centers love, equality, and authenticity. As a creative producer for over ten years, they’ve honed leadership and collaboration skills in the Themed Entertainment industry. Early on, they internalized deep shame within an environment of rigid requirements, which led them to a personal journey of self-acceptance to reclaim self-love. This inspired them to become trained in trauma-informed peer-counseling and nervous system regulation strategies. They have an affinity for transforming complex concepts into simple, approachable practice. When not participating in connective book discussion, you might find them enjoying bike building, playing music, paddle boarding, or celebrating good company over a great meal.
Amy Whicker (she/her)
Amy is passionate about sharing what she has learned about communication, self-awareness, and personal empowerment. She loves designing workshops that are playful, connective, interactive spaces for people to be authentic and grow more fully into their true selves. She has been designing and facilitating connection discussion-based workshops for 3 years. Outside of discussion groups, you can catch her curled up with chamomile tea and a book, or making moss art.
Some frameworks we draw from:
NVC, IFS, Authentic Relating, Mindful Self-Compassion, IPNB, Somatics, Focusing, Conscious Uncoupling, Self-coaching, Trauma-Informed Mindfulness, Shadow work, Conscious consent, The Five A's of Mindful Loving, and others.