Building Competence in Practice with the Polyamorous Community: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Global shifts in relationship, gender, and sexuality norms.
• Increasing recognition of diverse relationship structures like polyamory.
• Noted absence of social work perspectives in polyamory literature.

Purpose of the Study:

• Conduct a scoping review on social work, counseling, and polyamory.
• Assess existing knowledge over the past decade.
• Contribute to the academic understanding of polyamory within social work.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review methodology.
• Analysis of literature from the last decade.
• Identification of emerging themes in social work and polyamory.

Main Results:

• Clinicians must examine biases against polyamory and monogamy.
• Polyamorous individuals often exhibit fluid identities and sexual orientations.
• Societal stigma necessitates safe environments for polyamorous clients.

Conclusions:

• Social work values client self-determination and critical discourse analysis.
• The field would benefit from increased research into polyamory.
• This review serves as a foundational step for future scholarship.