The Heart of an Affair

A Conversation with Bill Doherty

EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview streamed live on May 19, 2022. Some offers and links may no longer be available.

Affairs are one of the biggest ethical issues that therapeutics encounter in everyday practice… 

And while there’s extensive literature on how to help couples recover from an affair, there’s little on how to help someone engaged in an affair grapple with the effect of their actions on others.

Watch Bill Doherty talk with Psychotherapy Networker editor in chief Livia Kent for a discussion on how to help clients get clarity around the ethical dimensions of secret affairs and the dilemmas that often show up in therapy.

This talk is based on this article in our most recent magazine issue. Read it here to learn more about the ethical dilemmas posed by infidelity

Livia Kent

Livia Kent, MFA, is the editor in chief of Psychotherapy Networker. She worked for 10 years with Rich Simon as managing editor of Psychotherapy Networker, and taught writing at American University as well as for various programs around the country. As a bibliotherapist, she’s facilitated therapy groups in Washington, DC-area schools and in the DC prison system. In 2020, she was named one of Folio Magazine’s Top Women in Media “Change-Makers.” She’s the recipient of Roux Magazine‘s Editor’s Choice Award, The Ledge Magazine‘s National Fiction Award, and American University’s Myra Sklarew Award for Original Novel.

William Doherty

William Doherty, PhD, is professor of family social science and director of the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project at the University of Minnesota. He’s the author of the forthcoming book, The Ethical Lives of Clients: Transcending Self-Interest in Psychotherapy