“This isn’t an affair!?”
1h 3m
Mehmet Sungur
Professor of Psychiatry & Sex therapist
Trailer
Get AccessFull VideoContent: Last year, Elisa, a 38-year-old woman, broke up with her fiancé, George. She had discovered he was using a dating app to meet other women for kinky sex, and she felt awfully betrayed. She now craves dynamic hot monogamy, as it used to be with him, and she would like to build a family. But as far as she is observing, the dating market is full of men that do not want to commit. She feels depressed and wonders if calling George back is a good idea, so she wants to discuss it with a therapist.
After a few months of psychotherapy, Elisa meets a new man, which is love at first sight. He is in a long marriage with one kid and declares he is on his way out. His wife agrees it is over, but they are taking it slow, figuring out how to break the news to their son. Elisa states this isn’t an affair: “Their marriage may not be legally over, but in every other way, it is.” It seems she is turning judgment into justification, as the issue now is on her. This assumption will lead to consequences Elisa needs to face.
Prof. Mehmet Sungur discusses the case presented by Francesca Tripodi, where infidelity has to be approached from different sides:
1. What could be the meaning of an affair?
2. How does the individual’s perception of a betrayal change, depending on the role (who suffers and who acts)?
3. When is a marriage really over, and how should the therapist help patients considering the risk of pain and disappointment?
Produced in 2022
Mehmet Sungur
Professor of Psychiatry & Sex therapist
Distinguished Guest
Mehmet Sungur is professor at Marmara University Medical Faculty, at the Psychiatry Department. He has worked in the training of the professionals in different countries and his contribution in the field of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and, specifically, in the intersection of CBT with sexology, is outstanding.
Currently, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Cognitive and Behavior Therapy Association, of the International Cognitive Therapies Association, and of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a founding member and a certified trainer and consultant of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He is also the coordinator of the CBT Task Force and Couple Therapy Task Force of the Turkish Psychiatry Association.
He published numerous articles in national and international scientific journals and presented workshops and keynotes in hundreds of national and international congresses. Moreover, he is on the advisory and/or editorial board of many national and international journals. Prof. Sungur has received some national and international awards, among which the Gold Medal from the European Federation of Sexology in 2014; he is the current president of the European Federation of Sexology, and a member of the World Association for Sexual Health advisory board.
Mehmet Sungur’s clinical practice covers a wide range of clinical syndromes with a special emphasis on cognitive behavioural treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and sexual and marital problems. He played a leading role in the dissemination of the practice of CBT and sex therapy in Turkey and worldwide.