An Interactional Approach to Marital Infidelity: Including the Other Woman in Therapy

This paper describes the treatment of a couple who presented for therapy complaining of difficulties arising from an affair that the husband was having. The couple had been unable to resolve the difficulty partly because they believed that the trio had been close in previous lifetimes and that their current situation was spiritually ordained. The paper presents a strategy for treatment that relies upon extending an invitation to the “other woman” to attend the therapy session. The factors contributing to the successful outcome of this case are discussed as well as cautions for therapists who might wish to employ the methods discussed.