EP21 Workshop 25 - Managing the Crisis of Infidelity: Recovering from Lies, Deception and Betrayal - Ellyn Bader, PhD

Description: Bader presents strategies for managing infidelity crises in therapy, emphasizing direct engagement with conflict, addressing obsessive rumination constructively, and understanding the deeper meanings behind affairs. Using case examples, she highlights the importance of honesty, self-reflection, and confronting various types of lies to rebuild trust. Bader outlines therapeutic skills necessary for both partners—empowering the betrayed partner to find their voice, fostering self-esteem, and encouraging the betrayer to take accountability. She also addresses therapist neutrality, transparency, and navigating challenges like sexless marriages through honest and difficult conversations.

Syllabus Description: Couples often come to therapy in the aftermath of infidelity. Their marriage is in crisis, their emotions are intense, and you are required to quickly organize a lot of complex information into a coherent treatment plan. How do you do this with confidence?

Discover what to look for, how to delineate core treatment issues in the initial, middle and termination stages of therapy. Next, use 10 parameters to assess the meaning of the infidelity and then uncover the major types of lies and deception to give you a solid way to determine what to address and when.

Learning Objectives

1. How to evaluate the meaning of an affair.
2. The value of obsessing about an affair and its details.
3. 4 main types of lies and why the types of lies matters.
4. How to organize what you know about the couple into a coherent treatment plan.