EP09 Workshop 04 – One Foot Out the Door: Working with Couples on the Brink – Michele Weiner-Davis, MSW

Description: This workshop outlines practical strategies for helping couples on the brink of divorce, even when one partner already wants out. Weiner-Davis draws from her Divorce Busting model to demonstrate how hope, directive coaching, and solution-focused interventions can revive connection. She shares how working with one partner can shift dynamics, offers strategies for navigating infidelity, and focuses on honoring emotional pain while guiding couples toward concrete steps forward.

Syllabus Description: Few couples seem as unlikely to profit from therapy as those in which one partner as already decided to leave. Yet, even at this point, a therapist has an opportunity to turn the situation around. In this workshop, you will learn how to step in, even at the 11th hour, and help couples with seemingly intractable problems – hopelessness, ongoing affairs, and one spouse’s unwillingness to seek therapy, to resolve their difficulties, recommit to their marriage, and reclaim their lives.

Educational Objectives:

1. To list three strategies for working with a spouse who won’t end an affair.
2. To describe three techniques for doing couples therapy with one spouse.

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*