Helping Couples Heal Podcast

In this episode, Marnie and Duane address the topic of grieving during the holidays, when loss and grief are often felt more acutely. The holiday season, which extends from Thanksgiving to the beginning of the new year, is a very long stretch of time when there is an expectation of celebration and joy. This can feel very incongruent for those in recovery from betrayal and relational trauma because the mood of someone who is grieving is very contrary to most others' mood during these festive times. Marnie and Duane offer some practical suggestions for surviving the holiday season, starting with simply accepting that you are grieving and that it will be different this year. Permitting yourself to make the necessary compromises and adjustments is crucial in making the holidays a bit more tolerable for yourself and your family.

In this episode, Marnie talks to Ryan Angulo, a Los Angeles based Polygrapher who she has been working with since 2008. With differing opinions amongst treatment professionals and clients alike about the efficacy of polygraphs in the context of sex addiction and betrayal trauma recovery, traumatized couples are often left confused, frustrated, and uncertain about whether or not to include the polygraph as a part of their disclosure and healing process. Marnie and Ryan answer the most commonly asked questions and explore the benefits and risks of using the polygraph as a tool to promote relational healing and rebuild trust post sexual betrayal. You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at helpingcouplesheal.com/aboutLearn More About Our Helping Couples Online Workshop at helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop

This episode of the HCH podcast focuses on the shame many betrayed partners' experiences related to their decision to stay in the relationship with the person who betrayed them. In this conversation, Marnie and Duane conceptualize the shame of staying as another burden partners must bear in the aftermath of the discovery of betrayal.  You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at helpingcouplesheal.com/aboutLearn More About Our Helping Couples Online Workshop at helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop

In this episode, Marnie has an uncensored and candid discussion with New York Times bestselling writer and transformational journalist Neil Strauss. Neil talks openly about his sex addiction recovery journey as chronicled in his book "The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships" With humor, humility, and honesty, He shares many of the lessons he learned in treatment, including the moments in therapy that changed his life, healed his relationship, and, most important, brought him home to himself. You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/ Learn More About Our Helping Couples Online Workshop at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop/  

In this episode of Helping Couples Heal, Marnie and Duane talk with Dr. Rob Weiss, a clinical sexologist and the Chief Clinical Officer at Seeking Integrity in Los Angeles. In his book "Out of the Doghouse; a Step by Step Relationship-Saving Guide for Men Caught Cheating," Rob offers concrete steps men can take to rebuild trust, restore intimacy, and heal relationships traumatized by betrayal. Sex addicts are intimacy-challenged and empathy-challenged. As such, they lack the skills needed to overcome the damage caused by their infidelity and associated patterns of manipulation, deceit, and emotional and psychological abuse. In this episode, we emphasize that identifying and learning about these crucial relational skills and eventually being coached in their practice is a necessary component of recovery for sex addicts to healing relationships traumatized by betrayal. You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/ Learn More About Our Helping Couples Online Workshop at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop/  

In this episode, Marnie and Duane share and address a listener's question about the role of empathy and emotional attunement in healing relationships traumatized by betrayal.  More specifically, they conceptualize shame as a barrier to relational healing and explore the importance of shame reduction in treatment.  You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/ Learn More About Our Helping Couples Online Workshop at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop/  

In this episode, Marnie and Duane discuss why emotional attunement is a necessary component for relational healing and why the" right words" without a felt sense of compassion for what your partner is experiencing and feeling just isn't enough.  They also explore the role of empathy in emotional attunement and why compassionate empathy is crucial to healing partner and relational trauma. You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/ Learn More About Our Helping Couples Online Workshop at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop/  

In the final episode of a 3-part interview with Dr. Omar Minwalla, Marnie and Duane continue the conversation about integrity abuse disorders and gender pathology in the context of betrayal trauma. You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/ Learn More About Our Helping Couples Online Workshop at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop/  

In this special edition of the Helping Couples Heal podcast, Marnie and Duane speak to those impacted by betrayal about the added stress and trauma caused by the current global crisis and the importance of social connection during a time of physical distancing and isolation. You can find out more about Duane and Marnie at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/ Learn More About Our Helping Couples Heal 2-Day Workshop at http://www.helpingcouplesheal.com/workshop/  

In the second of a series of three interviews, Marnie and Duane continue their conversation with Dr. Minwalla about integrity abuse disorders; the clinically significant deficits in integrity and patterns of psychological, emotional and relational abuse which cause complex trauma symptoms in betrayed partners.