No abstract

Studies conclude that extramarital affairs are considered by counselors to be the third most difficult marital problem to treat and the second most damaging problem to couples. Often times the damage goes unresolved and leads to the dissolution of the relationship. The authors reviewed the current literature regarding the consequences extramarital affairs have on a couple’s relationship and the impact affairs have on treatment. Additionally, the authors discuss the counselor’s role in facilitating treatment specifying the clinical and ethical implications involved when disclosing an extramarital affair.

Reentering the community is a difficult process for those released from incarceration and is a topic that is addressed with the individual by staff prior to their release. This often focuses on determining where they want to live, follow up care, as well as where they will work. However, the process of integrating back into the family is not necessarily always addressed with the individual, let alone their family. In the absence of the incarcerated individual, the family has needed to reconfigure itself to adjust to the empty space created by the imprisonment of the individual. The family has taken on different roles and responsibilities, filling in for the missing person, while managing their own adjustment and reactions to the incarceration. This is rarely supported by additional external support for the family members and is not included in the re-entry planning for the released individual. This chapter will focus on the needs of the family as they navigate the re-entry of the released individual back into the family dynamic.