Infidelity and Behavioral Couple Therapy: Optimism in the Face of Betrayal.

Abstract

Infidelity is a common issue with which distressed couples and their therapists grapple. However, there are no data on the efficacy of commonly used therapies to treat couples in which there has been an affair. In the present exploratory study, the authors examined the therapy outcomes of a sample of infidelity couples (n=19) who had participated in a randomized clinical trial of marital therapy (N=134). Results show that infidelity couples began treatment more distressed than noninfidelity couples; however, evidence suggests that couples who had an affair and who revealed this affair prior to or during therapy showed greater improvement in satisfaction than noninfidelity couples. Implications for therapy with infidelity couples are discussed.

Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy

“…As part of this efficacy research, there were several additional findings: couples with lowlevel violence could benefit from treatment without a danger for violence escalating [12]; couples experiencing infidelity could benefit from treatment in the short term and, although these couples are at greater risk for separation over the long-term, those who stay together benefit as much as non-infidelity couples [13][14]; for couples with children, treatment showed benefits for parenting [15]. Prediction studies demonstrated that, out of a number of possible variables, higher relationship commitment and longer length of marriage were independently predictive of long-term positive outcome [16][17].…”

Estranged Wife, Other Man’s Beloved

“…Independence, whether emotional or economical, is also an influencing factor in the decision for engagement (Drigotas & Barta, 2012). Aside from women entering the world of work (Atkins, Eldridge, Baucom, & Christensen, 2005;Drigotas & Barta, 2012), Weeks, in an interview conducted by Smith (2011), argued that the introduction of mobile and digital technology created more opportunities for EMR. Also, the mass media with its bombardment of subliminal to intentional messages about liberal sexuality, misrepresented and misinterpreted gender role changes, and equality and romanticized affairs is preparing a society that is more conducive to extra-dyadic affairs (Leyson, 2004(Leyson, -2006.…”

Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy for Couples: An Insight into the Treatment of Couple Hardships and Struggles

“…This problem is also particularly difficult to address in treatment because it frequently puts partners in a situation where they question their desire to continue their relationship [48,49]. This being said, many studies have concluded in the effectiveness of CBCT in the treatment of extradyadic affairs in terms of decreased psychological symptoms of depression and relationship distress [40,50,51]. Since CBCT commonly addresses infidelity as a form of interpersonal trauma experienced within the intimate relationship [52], interventions for this problem generally aim at dealing with the crisis following disclosure of the extradyadic affair and at the exploration of factors that might have contributed to the affair.…”