BT10 Workshop 14 - The State of Affairs: Rethinking our Clinical Attitudes Towards Infidelity - Esther Perel, MA, LMFT
Infidelity is generally regarded as a symptom of a troubled relationship, and the revelation of an affair triggers a crisis of trust and connection. In this workshop, we'll explore the multiple motives and meanings behind affairs against the complexities of marriage, sex, intimacy, and monogamy. We’ll examine the benefits and costs of truth-telling and transparency, how couples can rebuild trust and intimacy, and why affairs can actually stabilize a marriage and prevent its dissolution. In particular, we will focus on how couples can turn the crisis into an opportunity. Combining didactic material, case studies and video vignettes, we will lay out a nuanced and multicultural therapeutic approach for working with extramarital relations secret or revealed.
BT10 Workshop 28 - The Double Flame: Reconciling Intimacy and Sexuality - Esther Perel, MA, LMFT
This workshop probes the intricacies of love and desire—how they relate and how they conflict. Participants will learn how emotional intimacy can inhibit sexual desire and why “good intimacy” doesn’t necessarily make for “good sex.” Through case material and video vignettes, we’ll explore how our emotional history: “how we were loved” shapes our erotic blueprints and expresses itself in the physicality of sex: “how we make love”. We will show how to break through erotic impasses and help couples balance the dual needs for security and freedom. This model applies to couples and individuals from all sexual orientations.