In Couples Therapy for Extramarital Affairs, Dr. Don-David Lusterman demonstrates his empathic, psychoeducational approach to working with couples in which one partner has had an affair. Therapy begins with acknowledgment of the "victim" status of the partner who discovered the affair. Dr. Lusterman then works to restore trust and helps the discoverer to transcend the role of victim by encouraging empathy in the offending partner for the discoverer's feelings. In this session, Dr. Lusterman works with a couple in which the husband has admitted to an affair with a coworker. The emotionally charged nature of this session requires the therapist to actively guide the couple away from the dynamic of blame and blame-avoidance toward honesty and openness. This video features a client portrayed by an actor on the basis of actual case material.
