PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Working with Affairs, Betrayal, and Trust Ruptures in Couples Therapy
About the webinar
Affairs and betrayal can destabilise relationships and place therapists in emotionally charged, high risk clinical territory. Couples often arrive in crisis, with intense emotions, competing narratives, and uncertainty about whether the relationship can or should continue. This training supports clinicians to work safely and confidently with betrayal, understand the impact of trust ruptures, and help couples navigate repair, meaning-making, or separation with care and structure.
What You'll Learn
How affairs and betrayals impact attachment, safety, and identity
An exploration of how betrayal disrupts emotional safety and attachment bonds, often triggering intense fear, shame, grief, and identity questioning for both partners. This section focuses on understanding betrayal as a relational injury rather than only a moral failure.
Different types of affairs and trust ruptures and why they matter clinically
A discussion of the different forms betrayal can take, including sexual affairs, emotional affairs, secrecy, boundary violations, and hidden behaviours. Attention is given to how the type, duration, and context of the rupture shapes clinical risk, pacing, and treatment focus.
How to assess readiness for couples work after betrayal
Guidance on how to determine whether couples work is appropriate and safe following betrayal, including assessing stabilisation, emotional regulation, power dynamics, and willingness to engage in repair rather than continued harm.
How to hold accountability without shaming
An exploration of how therapists can support responsibility and impact awareness while avoiding shaming, minimising, or colluding. This includes helping the partner who betrayed to stay present and engaged without becoming defensive or withdrawn.
How to support emotional regulation and containment in early sessions
Practical guidance on helping couples manage intense emotional responses in the aftermath of betrayal. This includes slowing conversations, reducing reactivity, and creating enough emotional containment to prevent further injury during sessions.
How to work with disclosure, secrecy, and ongoing contact
A framework for navigating questions around disclosure, transparency, and boundaries, including how to assess what information is helpful versus harmful and how to manage situations involving ongoing contact with third parties.
How to support trust repair when reconciliation is the goal
An overview of how trust repair unfolds over time, including the role of consistency, accountability, emotional responsiveness, and repair conversations. This section focuses on supporting realistic expectations and sustained relational change rather than quick fixes.
Whats included
Examine how to support couples through disclosure, repair, and decision-making after breaches of trust.
Case examples and realistic clinical scenarios
Frameworks for assessment and treatment planning after betrayal
Practical tools for stabilisation, boundaries, and repair conversations
Guidance on pacing and structure in early post betrayal work
Who Should Attend?
Who is it for
Especially helpful for clinicians working with couples following infidelity, emotional affairs, breaches of trust, or significant relational ruptures.
Level of experience
Suitable for early-career and experienced clinicians. Previous training in couples therapy is highly recommended.
This training is not a certification program or a replacement for supervision. It focuses on core clinical understanding and practical tools rather than advanced modality-specific training.
Length
3 hours
Confirm Your Attendance
Join this live, three hour training for therapists who want to feel more confident and steady when working with conflict in the room.
This session focuses on practical skills, therapist self awareness, and clear ways to support couples through difficult moments.