Counseling for Adultery in Cumming, GA—Infidelity and Cheating
Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” is a popular country song that many know and love. The song describes how a woman responded when her significant other cheated, and it strikes a chord with both men and women who have experienced adultery in a committed relationship.
Infidelity, adultery, or cheating (whatever word people prefer) has serious consequences. One reason Carrie Underwood’s song may be so popular is that it captures the intensity of infidelity. Learning that a spouse or partner has cheated is often a traumatic experience, and people often need a counselor’s help, whether they pursue reconciliation within the relationship or not.
Thriveworks Cumming has counselors who understand how disorienting adultery is and have helped many couples find a healthy way forward, whether their goal is to restore the marriage or part ways as amicably as possible. If you need help achieving either of these goals after infidelity, call (770) 224-7008. Our counselors are ready to step in.
What Is Infidelity?
From a distance, cheating is a simple concept: someone broke the expectations of a committed relationship. Unfortunately, though, living through infidelity is always more complicated. Therapists sometimes group affairs into three different types:
- Emotional-only: Far more than close friendships, emotional affairs often involve flirting, fantasy, innuendo, and secrets, even if they do not involve sex. Emotional affairs hinder a person’s ability to connect fully with their significant other, and they are often kept secret from the uninvolved spouse.
- Sexual-only: Many affairs have little to no emotional element to them. These may include one-night stands, visits to strip-clubs, pornography addiction, visits to prostitutes, and more. The spouse committing a sexual affair may also struggle with a sex addiction.
- Emotional and sexual: Often, long-term affairs involve both sexual and emotional elements.
Why Do People Cheat?
People who cheat on their spouse or partner give many excuses, most of which are unhelpful to the relationship. The reality is, cheating is a hurtful action regardless of the reason it occurred. Nonetheless, counselors sometimes talk about two contexts in which people cheat that may be helpful to understand. Determining the context where the infidelity occurred can help determine what the path toward healing may involve.
- Deficit: The deficit context of adultery is where a spouse cheats to fulfill a real or perceived deficit in themselves, the uninvolved spouse, or the relationship. An example includes someone who cheats to experiment sexually in a way the spouse may not have been willing to do.
- Situational: The situational context for adultery looks at where and how the adulterous relationship was formed. For example, many people have affairs with people who they met at work, or they conduct the affair while traveling for work.
Regardless of what led to the infidelity, cheating has a devastating impact. Whether couples decide to pursue separation, divorce, or reconciliation, they often benefit from a counselor’s guidance.
Why Pursue Counseling for Adultery?
Couples can recover from an affair and pursue their relationship goals, whatever those goals may be. But unfortunately, there is no quick-fix for infidelity. Saying, “I’m sorry,” does not magically heal the wound or restore trust. Even if couples decide to divorce, there are many reasons to pursue counseling to handle the aftermath of an affair.
Thriveworks therapists have extensive experience in helping couples walk through the disorienting path of infidelity. They have many tools that may allow couples to repair what the affair destroyed. These may include…
- Boost Communication: After a spouse has cheated, communication usually and understandably comes to a place of complete break-down. Couples may find that they bounce back and forth between two unhealthy extremes: ignoring each other or yelling at each other. But there are other options. A counselor can facilitate a healthy communication process, giving each spouse the tools to express what they need.
- Establish Goals: Some couples know they want a divorce. Some want to try a separation. Others want to see if the relationship can be repaired. Most are not sure which they want or may even change their minds during the course of therapy. That’s normal. Part of counseling’s goal is to clarify the relational goals and then evaluate them throughout the processes.
- Develop Trust: Cheating inherently involves breaking trust. Moving forward, even toward a divorce or separation, requires some level of trust to be restored. But developing trust after a betrayal is never an easy process. Building trust requires time and consistent behavior from the spouse who committed the betrayal. Counseling can guide couples on how to best rebuild trust for the relationship they choose.
Adultery Counseling Appointments at Thriveworks Cumming, GA
Infidelity in a marriage is a difficult but delicate experience. Reaching out for help may be the right thing, but speaking to a therapist about such a painful and personal problem is not usually an easy thing. Thriveworks Cumming, GA counselors understand. We respect the decision you have made to seek help for infidelity and want to earn your trust from the first time you call our office.
When you call to schedule an appointment, here is what we do to make reaching out for help as hassle-free as possible:
- A person will answer your call (not an automated director or voicemail).
- You will never be put on a waitlist because we don’t have one.
- Our office works with many insurance providers.
Infidelity does not have to ruin your life. Are you ready to start healing? Call today to schedule an appointment for counseling.
