Relationships and marriages are built over time. You and your partner have experienced a fair share of transgressions and learned about one another through every misstep. But you remained faithful to one another until, one day, your partner did something devastating. They were unfaithful.
Infidelity is often a deal-breaker for many marriages, but that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, if you two want to save the marriage, you can definitely rebuild and rise together, stronger. But if you want to maximize your success, you’re going to need some help.
Do you think infidelity can be overcome through counseling? That’s actually a trick question. Counseling is vital to infidelity recovery; you should never go without it!
Can Infidelity Be Overcome With Counseling?
Yes, infidelity can be overcome if you and your partner both attend infidelity counseling or therapy. For most couples, infidelity comes with a lot of questions, most of them starting with the word why.
More often than not, that question of why is where couples get stuck in the recovery process.
Rather than getting straight to the source, they start falling into a pit of despair that looks like:
- Why did they do this to me?
- Why don’t they love me?
- Why did they have to have sex with someone else?
- Why couldn’t they talk to me before this happened?
The reasons for infidelity are many, though none of them are justifiable. No matter how lonely you were, how bored with the marriage you had become, or how angry you were with your partner, infidelity is never the answer.
Marriage or infidelity counseling paves the pathway to getting the answers you seek. Not only do you have a safe place to open up about your emotions, but you have an unbiased therapist by your side to uncover the truth surrounding the infidelity.
How Can Counseling Help With Infidelity?
Therapists and counselors are supportive and knowledgeable. They can listen to both parties, and help you figure out your desires and goals. Furthermore, they provide methods for repairing trust and working through the whole process together.
Counseling helps with infidelity in a number of ways. For instance, if you were the one who had the affair, you might attend individual therapy to learn ways to prevent it from happening again. Conversely, someone affected by infidelity might visit a therapist to understand why they reacted to the affair the way they had.
Counseling for both individuals and couples often focuses on communication, transparency, honesty, and forgiveness. Should you choose to save your relationship after infidelity, an infidelity recovery specialist, for example, will help you work together on your relationship.
The course of therapy might look something like this:
- Spending time combating the effects of PTSD
- Discussing the details of the affair, so that all parties involved know the truth
- Discussing methods for handling the affair when you have children or parents living at home
- Working through feelings of low self-esteem and low desirability to your spouse
- Openly communicating about your struggles in the marriage and working to correct them
- Understanding the importance of forgiveness
- Regaining passion and intimacy within the relationship
Once you have reached a point where you and your partner are intimate and the infidelity has been forgiven, that generally signals the end of therapy. However, some couples may continue to visit therapy or do online programs, such as Couples Academy, for maintenance.
Find a Therapist With Experience in Infidelity Recovery
While all forms of therapy can help people overcome issues, there is a reason therapists specialize. A marriage counselor might not have all the tools and education of an infidelity recovery specialist. A therapist who deals in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) might be able to give you insight into your personality or depression, but they’re not going to be able to fix your marriage.
Therefore, if you want to recover from infidelity with therapy, you need a therapist who can help the betrayed spouse handle their trauma while providing unbiased advice. Infidelity counseling can help you navigate the struggles of recovering from an affair, as well as assist with taking responsibility for what happened, communicating about the affair, regaining trust, and handling intimacy.
Keep Going, Even When Results Are Slow
Marriage and infidelity counseling can be time-consuming, expensive, and downright overwhelming at times. But if you want your marriage to survive, then you have to also consider counseling crucial to the process.
While infidelity can be overcome through counseling, you also need to stay committed and never stop working on your relationship. Even if your marriage or relationship doesn’t continue, counseling provides you with an opportunity for personal growth. That investment in yourself and your relationship is well worth the time and money you spend.
Your future is worth it. Imagine going into the next 5-10 years of your life with more self-esteem, self-love, and the ability to communicate your wants and needs more effectively.
Looking For Support After Infidelity?
Never underestimate the power of therapy, especially when dealing with infidelity. Any form of betrayal is bound to leave you reeling and emotional, often too emotional to deal with the pain alone. That is why counseling is essential to infidelity recovery because you need to learn how to manage your grief and work through painful emotions effectively.
Founded by a marriage coach and infidelity recovery specialist, Couples Academy has everything you need to overcome any challenge in your marriage. Whether you are overcoming infidelity or seeking to strengthen your bond, Couples Academy features unique services that get you results sooner than expected. Let’s get started. Fill out the contact form to learn more.
