Marriage Counselor Sued for Telling Hubby to Cheat

New York couple wants $8M
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2010 11:41 AM CDT
Marriage Counselor Sued for Telling Hubby to Cheat
Having problems? Don't go to a couples counselor who encourages cheating.   (Shutter Stock)

A New York marriage counselor’s unorthodox methods apparently include telling his clients to cheat—and now he’s being sued by one couple he "treated." Guido Venitucci and Heather Aldridge paid $300 a week for 11 years to see counselor Jeffrey Mechanic—even though he was allegedly telling Venitucci his wife would never satisfy him and he should have an affair. When he did, Mechanic assured him it was a-OK.

Now Venitucci and Aldridge, who nearly divorced over the dalliance, want $4 million each (they paid Mechanic $150,000 for his questionable services), and at least one former client backs up their claims. She tells the New York Post Mechanic is an unprofessional “predator” who encouraged her to cheat…but she also saw him for 10 years, likening his therapy to “a cult.” Tellingly, Mechanic’s own wife filed for divorce in 2006.
(More counseling stories.)

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