Couple Guido Venitucci and Heather Aldridge are seeking $8 million in damages in a lawsuit against Upper West Side marriage counselor Jeffrey Mechanic. Venitucci said Mechanic called him a "pussy" and said his wife was incapable of satisfying him during their weekly, $300 sessions. Then, when Venitucci "caved in and had an affair...[Mechanic] said there was nothing wrong with that." The couple says Mechanic's advice left them closer to divorce, and apparently they're not the only ones.
Former Mechanic patient Blair French said Mechanic urged her to detail her sexual fantasies in group therapy, and told her she should cheat on her husband by letting a businessman take her as a mistress. She said, "He encourages people to have affairs. He makes people feel it's OK. He gives them permission to do it. It's almost like he's telling them it will help their current marriage." French and her husband filed for divorce in 2006, after nearly 10 years of therapy with Mechanic.
Mechanic is allegedly contemplating a countersuit, and his lawyer called the allegations "absolutely frivolous. We deny all the allegations. We are disappointed to see they are going this route."
