Couples & Polycule Therapy in Los Angeles:
For BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & ENM Relationships
At Nokdu Therapy, we offer kink-affirming couples therapy and polycule therapy in Los Angeles for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, QTIBIPOC, poly (polyamorous), open relationship, open marriage, and ethically non-monogamous (ENM) relationships. Our couples and relationship therapists include Arthur Sun, LCSW (#129742), Gonji Lee, LCSW (#88522), Jeffery Park, LMFT (#108456), and Leslie Yick, AMFT (#147779) & APCC (#17060). Our team supports couples and polycules in building trust, connection, and communication across California via telehealth.
ENM
non-monogamous & open relationships
LGBTQ+
lived, intersectional experience
Polycules
& co-parenting relationships
What Couples & Polycules Often Say
People in strong relationships know how to reach out for support at any stage, whether it's for preemptive care, maintenance, or rupture repair. Does any of this sound familiar?
"Things between us feel solid, but we want to set a strong foundation before a big change comes."
"We need help figuring out how to open up our relationship. We don't really know anyone else to model after."
"As a queer, BIPOC couple, we want someone who gets the racial and cultural dynamics that come up in our relationship."
"Our polycule is navigating jealousy and scheduling, and we could use a neutral space."
"We keep having the same fight, and neither of us feels heard."
"Our traumas are starting to affect the relationship. I project onto my partner and I get insecure."
"I think I'm anxiously attached to my partner. But it doesn't help that they keep pulling away."
"We generally have a strong relationship, but there's just this one thing we can't seem to resolve on our own anymore."
What Couples & Polycule Therapy Looks Like in Los Angeles
Therapy for couples, partnerships, and polycules at Nokdu is available for people in intimate (romantic or platonic) relationships, including those who are preparing for marriage, divorce, separation, co-parenting, cohabitation, or working together. We work with couples and polycules of all structures, including poly, ethically non-monogamous (ENM), LGBTQ+, BIPOC, QTIBIPOC, and interracial relationships.
Any relationship can experience challenges when there are transitions and external stressors like moving, parenthood, career changes, a global pandemic, or living through collective trauma and violence. The connection can also be impacted when things have stayed the same for too long.
You might choose to use therapy to work through these issues as a preventative measure when you are anticipating a significant change, or in response to something that is already causing ruptures in the relationship(s). Or perhaps the relationship feels solid, and you are looking to set a strong foundation for yourselves around communication and boundaries so you don't repeat patterns from past relationships.
Through couples and polycule therapy, we hope to support everyone in fostering a sense of connection, mutual respect, trust, and assertive communication. We bring an anti-oppression lens and a trauma-informed therapy approach to relationship counseling.
We support the relationship unit in identifying a common goal and finding the path to get there by elucidating needs, setting boundaries, and practicing nonviolent communication.
Build communication strategies that help you feel heard and understood. Learn skills to move through difficult topics and stay connected.
Foster deeper affection within the relationship(s) and activate emotional and/or physical intimacy.
Turn toward one another by deepening trust and positive regard, even after disconnection or rupture.
From What You Were Told to What Is True
Couples and polycules absorb a lot of messages about what relationships are "supposed" to look like. Therapy helps you decide which ones you actually believe.
What Couples & Polycule Therapy Commonly Addresses
Couples, partnership, and polycule therapy at Nokdu can support your relationship(s) through both rupture and growth, from communication breakdowns to opening a relationship to navigating an ending with care.
Communication & Recurring Conflict
Building communication to move through difficult topics, interrupting the same fight on repeat, and practicing nonviolent communication.
Trust, Ruptures & Repair
Rebuilding trust and positive regard after breaches, disconnection, or ruptures in the relationship(s).
Transitions & Life Changes
Navigating moving, parenthood, career changes, and external stressors that put pressure on the connection.
Intimacy & Connection
Fostering deeper affection, mutual admiration, and emotional and/or physical intimacy within the relationship(s).
Polyamory, Open Relationships, ENM & Polycules
Opening a relationship or marriage, structuring ethical non-monogamy and open relationships, and navigating jealousy, scheduling, and relational dynamics within polycules.
Neurodivergence, Race, and Class
Acknowledging and processing differences in identities like neurotype, cultural norms, class backgrounds, and documentation status and how they affect the relationship.
Couples & Polycule Therapy Across Relationship Structures
Nokdu works with couples, partners, and polycules of many structures and identities across Los Angeles and California. You do not need to have everything figured out, or to fit any one model of relationship, to begin.
We work with two-person partnerships and larger polycules, romantic and platonic partnerships, and relationships at every stage, from newly forming to decades-long to consciously ending.
We have specific experience with poly and ethically non-monogamous relationships, including open relationships and open marriages. Our couples counseling is kink-affirming and sex-positive. We also center BIPOC, QTIBIPOC, and neurodivergent couples, where race, culture, class, and neurotype can add layers to relationship dynamics.
We offer LGBTQ+ affirming relationship therapy for queer, trans, and nonbinary partners and polycules, so you don't have to begin by educating your therapist about who you are.
Looking for a Couples or Polycule Therapist in Los Angeles?
Every couples therapist on our team is both trained and personally invested in supporting different relationship structures across our communities. Book a free consultation to find your fit.
Romantic or platonic, married or unmarried, at any stage of the relationship.
Supporting different relationship structures with communication, boundaries, scheduling, and navigating jealousy
Learning strategies to self-regulate and co-regulate when emotional activation and dysregulation arise.
Queer, trans, BIPOC, and neurodivergent partners, with care for the intersection of race, class, and neurotype.
Restructuring relationships through divorce, separation, and co-parenting with care.
How Couples Therapy at Nokdu Works
Couples, partnership, and polycule therapy at Nokdu begins with a free consultation and is tailored to your relationship(s), history, and goals. Telehealth is available throughout Los Angeles and all of California.
Free 20–30 Minute Consultation
We start with a conversation, either via phone or video call. You'll hear how we work, share what's bringing you in, and check whether we're a genuine fit for your relationship(s).
Understanding the Relationship's Full Story
Your therapist takes time to understand each person and the relationship(s), including the structure you're in, your histories, and what has brought you here.
Identifying a Common Goal
We support the relationship unit in identifying a common goal and finding the path to get there by elucidating needs, setting boundaries, and practicing nonviolent communication.
Building Communication & Trust
Drawing on attachment-informed and trauma-informed approaches including EFT, EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Brainspotting, and DBT skills, we build communication that can move through difficult topics.
Deepening Connection & a Strong Foundation
As therapy deepens, we work to foster deeper affection, activate intimacy, and turn toward one another, building a foundation that feels like yours.
Couples & Polycule Therapy Across Greater Los Angeles
We see couples and polycules via telehealth in Los Angeles and anywhere in California. Whether you're in Silver Lake, West Hollywood, Koreatown, or anywhere else across LA, affirming relationship care is available to you.
Meet Our Couples & Polycule Therapists in Los Angeles
Four of our therapists work with couples, partners, and polycules, each bringing rigorous training alongside lived, affirming awareness of poly, ENM, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, QTIBIPOC and neurodivergent communities.
Arthur Sun
Identifies as a queer, trans, Taiwanese-American, and neurodivergent person. Arthur works with couples, partners, and polycules, and is affirming of polyamory and ethical non-monogamy (ENM). They are trained in DBT and EMDR, and utilize an IFS-informed approach.
Gonji Lee
Identifies as a queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent person from the Korean diaspora and is the founder of Nokdu Therapy. They are sex- and kink-positive, body-neutral, and work with ENM and polyamorous communities and polycules. They are trained in IFS, Brainspotting, DBT, and CBT.
Jeffery Park
Identifies as a first-generation queer Korean. Jeff works with couples and relationships, specializes in working with artists, and incorporates creativity into sessions. He is an EMDRIA-trained EMDR therapist.
Leslie Yick
Identifies as a Chinese, Vietnamese descendant of migrants and refugees. They are queer, gender nonconforming, and sex-, kink-, and ENM-positive, and work with couples, partners, and polycules. They are trained in EFT for couples and Brainspotting, and are supervised by Jessica "Gonji" Lee, LCSW #88522.
Common Questions About Couples Therapy in Los Angeles
What is couples therapy at Nokdu?
Couples therapy at Nokdu is affirming relationship therapy for couples, partnerships, and polycules in intimate (romantic or platonic), marriage, divorce, separation, and co-parenting relationships. We support everyone in the relationship in fostering a sense of connection, mutual respect, trust, and strong communication. We support people in different stages, whether you are working through a rupture, preparing for a transition, or establishing a stronger foundation.
Do you offer therapy for polyamorous relationships and polycules?
Yes. We provide affirming couples and relationship therapy for polyamorous relationships, ethically non-monogamous (ENM) relationships, and open relationships in Los Angeles and throughout California. We hold poly and ENM relationship structures as valid, and we can support you with communication, boundaries, jealousy, and emotional regulation without asking you to explain or justify your relationship.
Do you work with ethically non-monogamous (ENM) relationships?
Yes. Several of our relationship therapists are ENM-affirming and experienced with ethical non-monogamy, open relationships, and open marriages. Whether you are opening a relationship or marriage, navigating an established non-monogamous structure, or figuring out what works for you, we offer a space for you to get support without having to educate your therapist along the way.
Do you offer kink-affirming couples therapy?
Yes. We offer kink-affirming and sex-positive couples, partnership, and polycule therapy in Los Angeles. You won't have to defend or justify your relationship or your desires to your therapist.
Do you offer LGBTQ+ and queer couples therapy in Los Angeles?
Yes. We offer LGBTQ+ affirming couples therapy for queer, trans, and nonbinary partners and polycules in Los Angeles. Our relationship therapists bring rigorous training alongside lived awareness of queer experience, so you do not have to start by educating us about your identities or your relationship.
Can you support BIPOC and QTIBIPOC couples?
Yes. This is central to our work. We support BIPOC and QTIBIPOC couples and polycules navigating the intersection of race, culture, migration, and relationship dynamics, including the ways intergenerational and cultural expectations can show up inside a relationship.
Do all partners need to attend every session?
Not necessarily. In couples and polycule therapy the relationship is the client, but the structure can be flexible. Sometimes all partners attend together, and sometimes individual or smaller sessions are useful. We will talk through what makes sense for your relationship(s) during your free consultation.
Do you offer couples therapy for non-romantic or co-parenting relationships?
Yes. Therapy for couples, partnerships, and polycules is available for intimate (romantic or platonic), marriage, divorce, separation, and co-parenting relationships. You do not have to be romantically involved to benefit from relationship therapy.
What approaches do you use in couples therapy?
Our relationship therapists draw on nonviolent communication, Gottman Method principles, EFT for couples, and trauma-informed modalities including Internal Family Systems (IFS), and DBT skills. We help the relationship identify a common goal and find the path to get there by elucidating needs, setting boundaries, and building communication skills to move through difficult topics.
Do you accept insurance for couples therapy?
We are not in network with any insurance companies. If your PPO plan covers out-of-network mental health services, you'll receive a superbill each month to submit for reimbursement. We also have limited sliding scale spots available. Please bring it up during your free consultation.
How do we start couples therapy in Los Angeles?
The most direct way is to book a free 20-30 minute consultation with one of our relationship therapists. We'll talk about what's bringing you in, how we work, and whether we're a good fit. Couples, partnership, and polycule therapy is available via telehealth throughout California.
Ready to Begin Couples or Polycule Therapy in Los Angeles?
Schedule a free 20–30 minute consultation. We'll talk about what's bringing you in, how we work, and whether we're a good fit. Telehealth available statewide throughout California.