Heal and learn from an affair and then rebuild your new relationship in Raleigh.
Couples Therapy for Infidelity / Extramarital Affair
Ready to Save Your Relationship? Use Gottman Method's Proven Three-Part Approach: Atone, Attune, and Attach.
Restore Trust and Commitment in Couples Counseling
The unspeakable happened in your relationship: a partner cheated and had an affair. While not commonly spoken about openly and publicly, this act of unfaithfulness that you experienced happens to couples more often than thought.
No matter the details, frequency, or rationale for the affair, you and your partner need to let go of your current relationship and replace it with a new, healthier one.
The process will be challenging and emotional. And yes, it can be done.
Rebuild Your Relationship with the Gottman Method in Raleigh
Use an Evidence-Based Couples Therapeutic Approach
I) Atone: Expression of Remorse and Forgiveness
In the first stage, the couple focuses on openness and transparency. The unfaithful partner takes responsibility for their behaviors and expresses remorse. The unfaithful partner also provides complete candor about past actions. The betrayed communicates the hurt, pain, and losses they have experienced as a result of the affair. The betrayed also provides forgiveness.
II) Attune: Rebuilding Trust and Reconnection
During attune, or the second stage of recovery, the couple works on rebuilding connection through gaining healthy, open communication skills and conflict resolution tools. Each partner also begins to understands the context for the affair and builds everyday emotional connection.
III) Attach: Development of a New Relationship
For attach, or the third and final stage, couples reestablish their trust in and commitment to each other through development of a new, stronger relationship and a new future together. Both partners get to shape new rituals for connection and examine their new shared meaning as a couple.
A therapeutic journey in counseling to restore trust after betrayal
Considerations for Addressing Infidelity in Couples Therapy
- Requires a willingness to make amends and recommit to each other
- Necessitates multiple thorough and frank conversations about the affair
- Entails understanding the betrayed partner may have PTSD as a result of the infidelity and need to heal their trauma
Couples Therapy and Gottman Method in Raleigh
The First Four Sessions of Couples Counseling
Couples therapy using the Gottman Method framework can look a bit different than other therapeutic approaches.
Before Gottman Method skills are introduced and interventions are applied, the therapist learns about the couple's history and life experiences of each individual in the relationship.
JOINT SESSION #1
Purpose: Discuss the history and philosophy of the relationship.
This includes sharing the story of how the two of you met, providing first impressions of one another, and noting the experience of major transitions in your life together.
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS #2 and #3
Purpose: Meet with each partner separately to learn about their personal stories and experiences before and during the relationship.
This includes sharing your feelings about the relationship, outlining pertinent family history, and discussing other applicable information about prior therapy and relationships.
Information stated in individual sessions may serve as content for couples work.
JOINT SESSION #4
Purpose: Review assessment of couple's relationship and collaborate on goals for therapy.
This includes sharing any observations from the counselor during the three prior sessions, along with ground rules for each session moving forward.
MEET WITH YOUR COUPLES COUNSELOR IN DOWNTOWN RALEIGH
In-Person Therapy at Current Wellness
You and your partner can meet with your couples therapist at Current Wellness in downtown Raleigh where the therapy rooms are comfortable, private, and safe.
The waiting area has a warm, welcoming vibe. Each therapy room offer adjustable soft lighting, functional decor (including sound machines and clocks), and comfortable seating. Additionally, there are a variety of sensory items to help keep you grounded and support focus, such as a weighted blanket, pop its, and fidget spinners. Furthermore, the space is clutter-free, minimizing potential distractions during your session.
The convenient location allows you and your partner to grab a beverage or food at Transfer Food Hall afterward and debrief your counseling session together.
LEARN MORE ABOUT GOTTMAN METHOD, A PROVEN COUPLES THERAPY APPROACH
Meet Doctors John and Julie Gottman, Founders of Gottman Method
Ready to move past infidelity and into a healthier relationship?
Schedule a free, 15-minute video consultation with Janice, a Raleigh counselor both trained in the Gottman Method and its approach to treating affairs.