Posted on May 8th, 2023 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

If you are in the unfortunate position of suspecting your partner of infidelity, you are probably hugely bothered by the uncertainty. You may have good reason to believe something is up but aren’t able to […]

Posted on January 4th, 2023 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

It’s crazy. You thought you knew your partner. You thought the relationship was in a decent place. Sure, you have your fights from time to time. But this? How could they have cheated on you? […]

Posted on September 5th, 2022 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

The question of whether to end a marriage and seek a divorce is one of the hardest questions a person will ever have to face. It can be extremely difficult to weigh the pain you […]

Posted on June 2nd, 2022 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

You cheated on your partner. You feel terrible. Between the guilt, the fear of discovery, the anger at yourself, and the rest of the crazy feelings, you don’t want to go on with the secret. […]

Posted on May 5th, 2022 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

If you’ve discovered that your partner has been having an affair, you may feel like your whole world has been rocked; your illusions have been shattered; your emotional life has been devastated. It is a heavy blow to bear, and for many people it spells the end of the relationship or marriage.

One of the hardest questions a person asks themselves when they find out about their partner’s infidelity is, “can he cheat and still love me?”

Posted on January 6th, 2022 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Before you buy something, you probably want to know whether it works. Fair question. You don’t want to buy an electric ab stimulator if it’s not going to work to tone you down to a […]

Posted on June 7th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Divorce stinks. Even when it’s the best option, it’s still a bad option. And this is doubly so when there are kids involved. (Actually, that’s probably an understatement. A divorce with no children is painful; […]

Posted on May 5th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

At the end of the day, the decision whether to tell your family is up to you. It is wise to consider the pros and cons before making such a choice. Pros include family support and helpful outside perspectives. Cons include the ramifications for the future of your relationship, and the possibility of getting “help” you don’t want, including pressure and judgment, from your loved on.

Posted on April 6th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Okay, so you blew it. You stepped outside your relationship and had an affair. And you feel terrible about it. Now what? Do you tell your partner what happened? Move on and hope they never […]

Posted on January 26th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

False. Well, that was easy, right? Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that. Life is not black and white. So let’s understand what we’re looking at here. For the purposes of this post I […]

Posted on July 22nd, 2020 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Infidelity is as old as the institutions it violates. Many, many people throughout history have been hurt by a partner’s choice to step outside the boundaries of their relationship. Understandably, many betrayed partners are plagues […]

Posted on May 4th, 2020 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

If you are an avid reader of this blog, you already know that the three most important words in a marriage are not “I was wrong” – they’re actually “help me understand.” (Check out the […]

Posted on October 29th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Crushed. Devastated. Hopeless. These are some of the emotions you may be experiencing if you have recently discovered that your partner has been having an affair.

Posted on January 30th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Although there are arguably some pros to pornography viewing as a part of your sex life, there are a number of cons that must be considered as well.

Posted on January 10th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

If you are considering seeing a couples counselor/marriage therapist to address a problem in your relationship, there are a few things it’s vital for you to know before you jump in. 1. Be prepared to […]

Posted on July 13th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Many people believe that infidelity unavoidably spells the end of a relationship.  However, the truth is that many relationships survive the injury of an affair, and in fact many get much better in the aftermath.  […]

Posted on July 27th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

If you’ve just discovered your boyfriend or husband watching porn online – perhaps extensively – you may be feeling shock, anger, disappointment, betrayal, and more.  You also may be confused about what this means for […]

Posted on May 31st, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

When someone has an affair and is discovered or comes clean on their own, their instinct is often to soften the blow and/or minimize the damage, especially if they still care about their partner and […]

Posted on March 14th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Every now and then I hear about a “great new therapy” that promises fast results and lasting change (often after a single session or treatment). I am highly skeptical of such approaches and I encourage […]

Posted on December 10th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

A common dynamic that I encounter in doing marriage counseling is that one partner will want to convince the other of some aspect of him/herself and get frustrated/angry/hopeless when they can’t seem to do so. […]

Posted on October 8th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

I recently worked with a couple that came in with a serious break in their relationship.  They were pretty despairing and didn’t know how to handle the problem.  I give them a lot of credit […]

Posted on October 1st, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

I’m not saying I recommend this, but it certainly is one avenue a person could take… www.cnn.com/2015/09/24/europe/cheating-husband-billboard-sign Looking for information on this issue that’s a little more helpful? Take a look at our services for […]

Posted on September 24th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

In the wake of the Ashley Madison leak, I got a lot of questions from friends and colleagues about the extent of the infidelity problem in America (at least, for those who consider it a […]

Posted on September 1st, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Hooray! We’re listed as the #1 marriage and family counselor in Baltimore on Thumbtack.com! https://www.thumbtack.com/md/baltimore/marriage-and-family-counselors/ Contact us today for help with all kinds of relationship issues, including: dating marriage infidelity/cheating breakups trust communication conflict resolution […]

Posted on July 31st, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Many clients call up for the first time wanting to know what couples counseling will be like. No doubt there is a nervousness there about starting a process that you don’t know much about. In […]

Posted on March 11th, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

I thought that this article about sex in marriage was really worth sharing.  The basic premise is that sex in marriage is something you have to work at (like marriage itself, of course).  When you […]

Posted on January 23rd, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Here’s another article I wrote on managing a relationship after an affair – this one directed at the cheater: https://www.wellness.com/blog/13274483/how-to-recover-from-an-affair-when-you-re-the-cheater/raffi-bilek Learn more about our work with couples and infidelity here.

Posted on December 15th, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

An affair is often thought of as a death blow to a marriage –the worst thing that could possibly happen to the relationship, from which there can be no recovery. The truth is that a […]

Posted on December 1st, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Are you in need of couples counseling?  How would you even know whether you are or not?  Here are some questions you can ask yourself to determine whether you are a candidate for marriage counseling: […]

Posted on October 8th, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

It is commonly thought that adultery is a certain death blow to a marriage. After all, what could possibly do more injury to a relationship than an affair? It strikes us as the worst thing […]

Posted on September 3rd, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Many people aren’t sure how to answer this question. When a married man is sending inappropriate text messages to another woman (or vice versa), does that “count” as an affair? The answer is really a […]