The Trauma of Infidelity

A breach of trust could have happened a long time ago. It could have happened last year or you could have just discovered it this week. Infidelity id devastating  It can feel impossible for you to have a clear plan on how to heal after the affair.

Infidelity and the Body

Infidelity has a direct impact on the nervous system
​which affects your day to day functioning!

Your Brain on Infidelity ©2021 -Dr. Angela DeCandia

The Incidence & Impact of Infidelity

• A relationship betrayal is traumatic. Infidelity has been found to occur in 25% of marriages (Gordon & Mitchell, 2020). ​
• Infidelity can cause prolonged distress that mirrors the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD (Dean, 2011).
• Studies suggest the impact upon the betrayed is significant, regardless of whether the infidelity was sexual, emotional, in-person, or virtual (Guitar et al, 2017).   ​​

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​Emotionally Focused Therapy - EFT
​can help...

For the partner who has been betrayed

• Help you understand what happened in a safe and structured way so you don’t feel overwhelmed by your emotions and needs for answers
• Identify your vicious cycle of interaction with your spouse to effectively de-escalate your conflict when you attempt to have a conversation about what happened
• Help you to address the infidelity directly to work together instead of against each other
• Manage anger and other difficult feelings when you are triggered 
• Identify what needs to be done to rebuild trust, safety, and security.

For the partner who has been unfaithful:

• Help you with full disclosure is the best road to protect, not destroy, your marriage
• Identify ways to prevent shame and guilt from prompting you to shut down and withdraw in difficult conversations 
• Help you to let go of shame so you can engage openly with your partner
• Communicate your sense of remorse successfully with your partner to cultivate acceptance and forgiveness
• Help your spouse heal and rebuild trust and security with you 
• Create a closer connection with your partner even when you face shame and other difficult emotions