After the Affair: Working with Couples and Infidelity
Presenter(s): Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C
NASW-NYS Members: $30
NASW Other Chapter Members: $60
Non-Members: $75
This workshop is approved for 3.0 continuing education credit hour(s) for licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed psychologists.
Workshop Description
Infidelity is often thought of as a deal-breaker for any marriage. A Gallup poll revealed that 62% of partners say they would leave a spouse who was cheating. The reality, however, is that infidelity does not have to mean the end of a relationship – about 70% of couples actually end up staying together after an affair is discovered.
Couples facing the upheaval of infidelity in their relationship come in with as varied a presentation as with any other problem – some furious and yelling, some cold and disconnected, some apparently serene and objective. Wherever the couple is starting from, a good understanding of the roadmap for helping them heal from infidelity can ground the therapist and help them guide the couple through the process of healing.
This workshop will lay out the steps for working with couples dealing with an affair and provide useful perspectives on the process, as well as specific techniques to move through it. The goal is to increase therapist confidence in working with couples presenting with infidelity.
Learning Objectives
After the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify the impact of their own values and experiences on their treatment of infidelity;
- Describe the needs of both partners in the wake of infidelity;
- Describe a five-stage approach to helping couples facing infidelity.
This workshop is approved for 3.0 continuing education credit hour(s).
NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (Provider ID #0014), licensed mental health counselors (Provider ID #MHC-0053), licensed marriage and family therapists (Provider ID #MFT-0037) and licensed psychologists (Provider ID #PSY-0088).
Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C, is a marriage and family counselor, and director of the Baltimore Therapy Center. He is also the director of the Montgomery County (MD) Abuse Intervention Program and the founder of a small nonprofit to provide low-cost family services to his local community. Raffi earned his bachelor’s degree at Brown University and later a master’s degree in social work from Yeshiva University. He has authored five social-issues children’s books and, in his earlier, carefree years, a book of Chuck Norris jokes. His current writing projects include a couples’ communication handbook and a book on philosophy and linguistics. Raffi speaks four languages and programs in two. He is also a nationally-ranked Scrabble champion. You can learn more about him and the Baltimore Therapy Center, www.baltimoretherapycenter.com.
