Husband sues marriage counsellor for having affair with his wife, then giving him bad advice so that the couple would divorce

As reported in the Chicago Sun-Times

A McHenry County man is suing his marriage counselor, contending the therapist he hired to help improve his marriage instead began an affair with his wife.

That relationship eventually prompted the couple to divorce, according to the breach-of-contract suit filed by 35-year-old Scott Buetow of Lake in the Hills.

His lawsuit seeks more than $200,000 in punitive damages from his former counselor, Dan Blair, and the Arbor Counseling Center where Blair works.

"He [Blair] had an obligation to provide services, and he willfully abused that for his own benefit," said attorney Hans Mast, who represents Buetow.

The lawsuit filed by Buetow in McHenry County also accuses Blair -- a state-licensed clinical professional counselor -- of fraud and professional malpractice.

Buetow and his wife began seeing the counselor in April 2004 to "strengthen and stabilize" their 10-year marriage, the suit contends.

While providing both joint counseling and individual therapy sessions to Buetow and his wife, Blair allegedly started a a romantic -- and secret -- relationship with Buetow's wife.

Despite the alleged relationship, Blair continued counseling Buetow and worked "to undermine the marriage to his benefit by tendering poor advice," the suit contends.

Buetow filed the suit because he believes "he got a raw deal from the person he trusted and confided in," Mast said.

Buetow and his 36-year-old wife, who have four children, were granted a divorce earlier this year, Mast said.

Blair, who has been licensed as a counselor since 1998, didn't return phone calls seeking comment on the suit.

He hasn't been disciplined for any professional complaints since being licensed, according to records from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

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Is any body surprised?