🟡 Featured Article – Australian Resource Therapy Institute
🎓 CPD Workshop Opportunity Below
At a recent Coldplay concert, what should have been a light-hearted kiss-cam moment turned into a viral scandal. A well-known CEO and a senior colleague, reportedly involved in a workplace affair, were caught in an embrace. Their startled reaction—pulling away, awkward body language, visible discomfort—was beamed onto screens, recorded by attendees, and broadcast across social media. Within days, it triggered a public relations crisis, an investigation, and eventual resignations.
While the internet debated motives and morality, those of us trained in trauma saw something else:
a freeze response, public shame, internal parts in conflict, and a nervous system under threat.
This moment offers a powerful teaching tool for trauma-informed therapists—especially those working with couples.
👀 What Was Really Happening?
Many viewers saw “guilt” or “caught in the act.” But clinically, what we witnessed looked more like:
- A protective part startled into shutdown
- A shamed part recoiling in real-time
- A nervous system overwhelmed by unexpected exposure
This is the language of trauma. And our clients bring versions of this into the room every week.
💔 Public Scandal, Private Injury
Whether or not an affair occurred is secondary. The deeper lesson is that many couples live with:
- Secrets they cannot name
- Shame they cannot bear
- Injuries they cannot repair
And when those injuries surface—sometimes through betrayal, sometimes through conflict or emotional neglect—therapists must know how to regulate, attune, and navigate the emotional terrain.
🧩 This Is Where Many Therapists Get Stuck
Even experienced clinicians report:
- “I don’t know how to help when one partner freezes or rages.”
- “I feel caught in the middle when betrayal enters the room.”
- “They talk, but nothing shifts emotionally or somatically.”
The problem is not your skill. It is the absence of trauma-integrated training in couples therapy.
🎓 That’s Exactly Why This Workshop Exists
If you’ve ever felt unequipped, overwhelmed, or uncertain when trauma showed up in the couple dynamic, we invite you to join:
🧠 Healing Trauma, Restoring Connection
A two-day in-person CPD training with trauma therapist and educator Maureen McEvoy
📍 Crows Nest Community Centre, Sydney
🗓️ 8–9 November 2025
🎓 Sponsored by the Australian Resource Therapy Institute
You’ll learn:
- How to identify protective and wounded parts in real time
- How to safely work with trauma ruptures in the couple system
- How to repair shame and restore connection – without re-traumatising
- Tools that blend parts work, Imago work, somatic therapy, narrative therapy, and attachment
This is not a theoretical training – it is clinical, practical, and empowering.
✅ Learn to Hold What the World Judges
When public shame erupts, most people run or attack.
As trauma therapists, we learn to sit with it.
To name the pain, anchor the system, and begin repair.
🛳️ Join us. Be the therapist who knows what to do when trauma walks into the room.
🔗 Register now 🧠 Healing Trauma, Restoring Connection in person, Sydney Workshop
PS personal note from Philipa
I’ve worked with many couples facing moments like this—whether it’s betrayal, confusion, or emotional disconnection. These are some of the most painful moments in a relationship… but they can also be the doorway to deeper understanding and growth.
If this post resonated with you, please know help is available. You do not have to figure this out alone.
With warmth and care,
Philipa Thornton
Registered Psychologist & Couples Therapist
www.marriageworks.com.au
