Dr. Ellyn Bader, PhD        

Psychotherapist, Co-Founder of The Couples Institute® and Co-Creator of The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. 

Ellyn Bader, PhD, is a psychologist, co-director of The Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California, and co-creator of The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. She’s one of the early founders of couples therapy, as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy. She coauthored the award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate and Tell Me No Lies: How to Face the Truth and Build a Loving Marriage with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. She’s been featured on Nightline, Good Morning America, and NPR, as well as in O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and the Wall Street Journal.

Return to conference speakers page

Managing the Crisis of Infidelity: Leading Clients from Raw Pain to Constructive Action       

Saturday | May 2, 2026
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm 
(1.5 CEs)

Description:

Helping couples navigate the aftermath of infidelity can be challenging work for even the most experienced therapists. The discovery of betrayal is rife with anger, distrust, guilt, shame, and deep emotional pain. In the face of these intense emotions, therapists need to quickly organize a deluge of conflicting information and narratives into a coherent plan for healing and reconnecting.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• To name three key stages of infidelity treatment, the treatment goals of each, and how to work with common challenges in each stage
• A specific framework to explore the meaning of infidelity and identify at least one way to integrate an understanding of the types of lies that were told into a coherent treatment plan
• To identify three patterns of conflict avoidance to move couples toward deeper work and healing