Betrayal Trauma Treatment Workshop

Credit

Program Information

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

A small portion of the material for this CE activity was developed with limited assistance from generative AI. All AI-generated information was reviewed for accuracy by the instructor, an independent content reviewer, or PESI staff.

Speaker

Heidi Green, PsyD Related seminars and products

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Dr. Heidi Green, is a highly respected clinical psychologist and a leading expert in trauma healing and personal empowerment. The author of The Path to Self-Love and World Domination (2020) and You Don’t Have to Love Yourself (2026).

Dr. Green’s therapeutic specialties include trauma, self-esteem, codependency, body image, boundaries, healthy sexuality, depression, anxiety, crisis intervention, and more. Using some of today’s most in-demand evidence-based treatments like DBT and EMDR, Dr. Green is recognized for her remarkable ability to connect with individuals and guide them on a transformative journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and improved well-being. In addition, Dr. Green is a registered yoga teacher and enjoys incorporating yoga practices into her trauma healing work with clients.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Heidi Green maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Heidi Green is a member of the American Psychological Association.

 

Additional Info

Program Information

You will have access for 90 days after the program for review. For live CE credit, you must watch the live webcast in its entirety at its scheduled time and complete the CE quiz and evaluation within one week. Please note that this requirement may vary by credit type. Please see detailed credit information for specific requirements for each credit type.

Please note: There will be a 70-minute lunch and two 15-minute breaks; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Lunch and break times will be announced by the speaker and at their discretion. A more detailed schedule is available upon request.

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Objectives

1. Differentiate between the trauma induced by betrayal from a close relationship and other trauma types.
2. Utilize appropriate screening and assessment tools to evaluate the severity of trauma, safety concerns, and client stabilization needs.
3. Utilize interventions that support emotional regulation, somatic awareness, and cognitive restructuring during the treatment process.
4. Choose techniques from Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy and Gottman method of couples therapy to facilitate relational repair following infidelity.
5. Choose techniques to guide the betraying partner in developing empathy, accountability, and transparent behaviors that support the betrayed partner’s recovery.
6. Examine how Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be used to work with trauma symptomology stemming from betrayal, abandonment, or emotional neglect within ta romantic relationship.

Outline

Clinical Assessment: Building a Clear Picture

• Gather history and betrayal timeline
• Screen for trauma, PTSD, depression, and anxiety
• How to identify compulsive sexual behaviors
• Assess safety and determine therapy structure:
  • Individual vs. couple work
  • Crisis vs. long-term planning
• Research, risks and limitations

Conceptual Models of Betrayal

• Trauma model
• Attachment and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) perspective
• Approaches to trust repair
• Influence of personal and family-of-origin histories

Working with the Injured Partner: Tools and Techniques to Stabilize and Empower

• Crisis stabilization and grounding techniques
• Emotional regulation strategies
• Address obsessive searching, rumination, and triggers
• Build internal safety and external support systems

Working with the Partner Who Betrayed: Strategies to Foster Accountability

• Understand motivations and behavioral patterns
• Accountability without reinforcing shame
• Coaching disclosures and  honesty
• Manage defensiveness and build empathy

Rebuild Trust and Communication in Couples

Frameworks to Help Intimate Partners Repair and Reconnect

• Prepare both partners for disclosure
• The 3 A’s Framework:
  • Atone: Responsibility, empathy, restitution
  • Attune: Emotional connection and repair attachment injuries
  • Attach: Rebuild intimacy and creating new agreements
• Safe conversation techniques
• Manage conflict without retraumatizing
• “Triggers Protocol” for couple stabilization

Support Clients Who Choose to Leave: Healing After Separation

• Signs that repair attempts are harmful or unsafe
• Indicators of ongoing deception, abuse, or lack of accountability
• Normalize the grief and identify shifts that come with leaving
• Address pressures to “stay and forgive”
• Rebuild identity and self-worth outside the partnership
• Handling triggers during divorce or custody negotiations
• Build a vision for life after betrayal

Working with Trauma Responses and Complex Situations

• Process flashbacks, triggers, and emotional flooding
• Use EMDR and other modalities for betrayal trauma
• Help partners understand trauma cycles
• Navigate ongoing deception and ambivalence
• Address addiction and betrayal
• Recognize co-occurring domestic abuse (red flags and boundaries)

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Psychologists
• Case Managers
• Registered Psychotherapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Other Mental Health Professionals