First off, I do recommend the professional route. Here in Portland, there are low-cost therapists, and I assume in your area as well. I've learned over the years that, if I call their office and ask their stance on kink and poly lifestyles, I can usually find people who are happy to accept that identity choices that are not causing problems don't need to be fixed.
I mostly recommend the professional route because professionals are often the best sources of (relatively) impartial information on the social dynamics around you. It is almost impossible to get accurate observational data from other people involved in the social interactions with you, since their viewpoint will be shifted by the interaction itself -- and since you know that your interactions go awry, chances are good that their view is skewed in ways that are invisible to them.
In conjunction with other research, I highly recommend acting books and exercises. Most interactions with people follow common patterns; acting can teach how to read and replicate those patterns.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 01:33 am (UTC)I mostly recommend the professional route because professionals are often the best sources of (relatively) impartial information on the social dynamics around you. It is almost impossible to get accurate observational data from other people involved in the social interactions with you, since their viewpoint will be shifted by the interaction itself -- and since you know that your interactions go awry, chances are good that their view is skewed in ways that are invisible to them.
In conjunction with other research, I highly recommend acting books and exercises. Most interactions with people follow common patterns; acting can teach how to read and replicate those patterns.