Navigating the array of emotions—shock, hurt, anger, defensiveness, and confusion—surrounding infidelity presents one of the most challenging things to face in your Counselling practice. However, understanding and addressing these complexities can also be immensely rewarding! This workshop aims to enhance your abilities in managing these highly charged situations. Whether your focus is on working with couples or individuals, this training is designed to increase your confidence and competence in addressing the intricacies of infidelity, providing valuable tools to navigate this emotionally complex issue.

Working with relationships following a significant breach of trust demands specialised skills. The conventional "even-handed" approach typically used for most other couple issues may not be suitable in these cases. In this four-part workshop, you'll gain the essential knowledge and skills necessary to intervene effectively in the most demanding crises couples face. This training will equip you with the expertise to navigate these challenging situations and provide powerful interventions tailored specifically for these complex trust-related crises, providing your client/s with the best possible chance to turn this crisis into growth, learning and deeper intimacy.

This workshop will encompass a wide array of crucial topics, including strategies for effectively addressing trust issues within relationships. You will delve into a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of infidelity, learning to differentiate and assess its various forms. Tailoring interventions to an individual's developmental stage will also be explored to ensure a personalised approach. Understanding the root causes and mechanisms behind infidelity will be a key focus in this workshop and we will navigate the responsibilities within the broader dynamics of relationships affected. You will gain insights into recognising deal-breakers within relationships and managing the extreme emotional responses that can result from infidelity. Moreover, the workshop will delve into the personal impact of your views and historical perspectives on infidelity and trust, acknowledging their influence on your professional practice.

Learning outcomes:

Develop effective communication skills to address and navigate your clients’ trust issues within relationships.
Learn comprehensive methods for identifying and categorising various types of infidelity.
Tailor interventions based on an individual's developmental level and unique needs.
Facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the ‘how and why’ behind the infidelity for all involved parties.
Identify individual responsibilities within broader relationship dynamics in the context of infidelity.
Define and discern factors that constitute deal-breakers in a relationship affected by infidelity.
Acquire strategies to manage and address extreme emotional reactions resulting from infidelity.
Explore and understand your own personal biases and historical perspectives on infidelity and trust, acknowledging their impact on your practice.

To get an insight into Nic's perspective, take a look at this 2018 blog post delving into the concept of infidelity, revealing a refreshingly simple definition (it may surprise you how simple it can be).

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This workshop series is spread across four morning sessions on:

26th September

3rd October

10th October

17th October

Each session will start at 9:00 am, finishing at 12.30 pm. The workshops build on each other so participants are expected to attend all four. Numbers will be limited to 20 to allow for full participation.

About Nic:

Nic Beets is a clinical psychologist and family therapist who has specialised in relationship and sex therapy throughout more than three decades of practice. Nic is the author of the self-help book for couples ‘Make Love Work’ which was published 2023 by Allen & Unwin. His passion for relationship therapy is influenced by having survived over 44years and two children with fellow psychologist Verity Thom. In addition to their work together at Relationshipwork, they write a popular fortnightly relationship advice column for the NZ Herald called ‘Intimacy, Actually’. Nic offers training and supervision through Relationship Therapy Inc – the only provider of training in the Developmental Model of couple therapy in Australasia. For over 20 years, Nic has been the coordinator and host of the Sex Therapy Interest Group (STING), a peer support network for over 250 health professionals across NZ & Australia with an interest in sexuality.

This session will be recorded and will be available for replay for two weeks after the event.