1st Edition
Infidelity A Practitioner’s Guide to Working with Couples in Crisis
When one partner in a relationship is unfaithful to the other, it takes a lot of work by both parties involved to salvage the relationship. In today’s therapy-friendly climate, marriage/couples counseling is often a part of that rebuilding process. Many couples seek out professional therapy after an affair is out in the open, but often the act of infidelity is revealed while uncovering and discussing unrelated issues for which the couple is in counseling. And yet, amazingly, as common as this complex and difficult topic arises in therapy, there is relatively little professional literature devoted to understanding and "treating" infidelity.
In this volume, Paul Peluso has assembled a truly impressive list of contributors from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, including marital therapy, family therapy, evolutionary psychology, marriage research, and cyberstudies, with the aim of filling this void.
Peluso, Introduction. Understanding Infidelity. Rassmussen, Kilborne, Sex in Intimate Relationships: Variations and Challenges. Davies, Shackelford, Goetz, An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective on Infidelity. The Treatment of Infidelity in Couples Therapy. Kessel, Moon, Atkins, Research on Couple Therapy for Infidelity: What Do We Know About Helping Couples When There Has Been an Affair? Fife, Weeks, Gabescia, The Intersystems Approach to Treating Infidelity. Snyder, Baucom, Gordon, Treating Infidelity: An Integrative Approach to Resolving Trauma and Promoting Forgiveness. Macintosh, Hall, Johnson, Forgive and Forget: A Comparison of Emotionally Focused and Cognitive Behavioral Models of Forgiveness and Intervention in the Context of Couple Infidelity. Brown, The Affair as a Catalyst for Change. The Impact of Infidelity on Couples and Families From Different Social, Cultural, Generational, and Sexual Perspectives. Subotnik, Cyber-Infidelity. Henriksen, Infidelity: A Multicultural Perspective. Shernoff, Male Couples and Monogamy: Clinical and Cultural Issues. Burch, Lesbian Couples: The Infidelities of Women, Sexual and Otherwise. Sori, Infidelity and its Impact on Children. Professional Reflections and Conclusion. Pittman, Berman, Peluso, Reflections of a Master: An Interview with Frank Pittman. Napier, The Affair. Peluso, Summarizing Infidelity: Lessons Learned Along the Way.
Biography
Paul R. Peluso, Ph.D., is Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Mental Health Counseling, Department of Counselor Education, College of Education, Florida Atlantic University.
"[This book] nicely summarizes the myriad of reasons why some partners may be unfaithful, and offers multiple treatment perspectives that are specific and easy to follow. The inclusion of how to work with emotions resulting from infidelity, which can often be overwhelming for clinicians, is invaluable. The book aslo contains many practical assessment questions for couples dealing with infidelity. For these reasons, I feel this book will be helpful to both new and seasoned practitioners alike. Overall, Peluso does a great job of including valuable and practical interventions for clinicians." - Kevin C. Garrett, M.Ed., Kansas State University, in Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy
