Marriage as the oldest institution is built on trust, loyalty, and commitment to one another remembering the marital vows. As beautiful as marriage looks, there are times when in marriage couples encounter a serious storms that can tear apart their union. The most painful and difficult obstacles most married couples can face is infidelity. Marriage Counseling comes in to solve the problem when the sanctity of a marriage is breached, it can bring shock in a relationship which in turn can tear marriage apart. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to know that infidelity in marriage doesn’t automatically put to an end marriage, most couples after the mistake of infidelity comes out strong. We will look at infidelity in marriage counseling; we will also look at how with the aim of a professional marriage counselor couples can sail through the emotional trauma and decisions that arise when trust is crushed.
Understanding Infidelity
Infidelity is defined as a process whereby a couple has romantic or sexual relationships outside marriage, broken the marital vows of a loyal Union; it involves extremely complex and emotionally issue. Couple fells trust brokenness and a sense of betrayal. Always remember that marriage doesn’t solve the problem of the desires to meet with the opposite gender sexually. It’s important to remember that infidelity is a choice. If you always have the urge for sexual intercourse before marriage, it is what you need to deal with as getting married doesn’t cure that. In other to address infidelity effectively in marriage counseling, it is very important to understand some of the things that infidelity causes:
1. Infidelity attack Trust
Since trust is the foundation of any successful marriage. When infidelity comes the first attack is on trust. Without trust in marriage, couples will live together in suspiciousness. Your partner suspects every move you make. The least thing like phone calls because a problem. Rebuilding trust is challenging but it is an essential step for healing.
2. Infidelity Affects Emotion of the Couples
Infidelity leads to a wide range of emotions for both spouse, it trigger rage, uncertainty and sadness. The emotional impact on a spouse can be devastating, and it often brings sudden change a relationship.
3. It Breakdown Communication
Effective communication is always one of the first casualties of infidelity. Couples may find it hard to put across their feelings and fears which can further make difficult the recovery process.
What is the Role of Marriage Counseling in Infidelity?
Marriage counseling which is also known as couple’s therapy creates a level playing ground for any marriage where infidelity swim in to get back on board. marriage counselor helps couples to recognize what comes after infidelity. Marriage counselors are usually trained and experience personalities who sees it as their duty to assist couples in whatever challenges they may experience in their marriage. Marriage counseling becomes a best channel in rendering solution to the problem. Here is how marriage counseling helps in challenges in marriage:
1. It set the stage safe for Discussion
Marriage counseling set the stage for couples to be free in other to experience their feeling. This is the important thing that we need in other to start the healing process. Couples should feel free to express themselves, being open without fear.
2. It helps to discover the Origin of the Problem
An experience and skilled marriage therapist dig deep into the origin of the problem, they don’t just look at the infidelity rather they look at what is the root cause of the infidelity. Knowing the origin of the problem becomes crucial in targeting the issue in the relationship.
3. It Builds the bridge of a Broken Communication
Breakdown in communication is often the first target of infidelity. Marriage counselors help couples rebuild a healthy and effective communication again, they will do this by creating an environment that allow them to express their feelings in a constructive way.
4. It Helps Couples to Build Trust Again
Since trust is the major ingredient in any relationship, marriage counseling helps couples build trust after infidelity. It provides a way on how couples can restore trust and create a more safe foundation for the relationship after the root cause of the infidelity have being dug out.
5. It helps Couples to manage their Emotions after infidelity
Couples may have weak emotional attachment toward one another. Couples may have intense feeling of anger, sadness and even confusion of what to do in terms of revenge. In Marriage counseling, couples will be furnishing with coping strategies to manage their feelings and make informed decisions about the future.
6. It helps Heal the wounds through Forgiveness
Without forgiveness, couples won’t be able to live together without suspiciousness. As this is a significant part of the healing process. Marriage Counselors helps couples have deeper knowledge and understand how forgiveness can help them in their union.
Infidelity Challenges and What to Expect In Future
It is crucial for couples that desire to have marriage counseling to have an expectation:
1. Couples need Patience to recover from infidelity
Since trust has being shattered, rebuilding a marriage after infidelity needs time. It will be progressive, it won’t happen so fast, and there will likely be setbacks along the way. The key element here is Patience.
2. There should be Mutual Commitment
Since the healing process will involve both, there should be mutual commitment for effective counseling. It’s not only the duty of the person who cheated alone to make amends; since the wound was inflicted on another, both partners must actively involved.
3. The Process of Forgiveness Requires Time
Infidelity hurt to the bones marrow. Forgiveness will take time, don’t expect it to happen sudden but a process that evolves over time. Its normal when a couple that was cheated on has mixed emotions, and with mixed emotions, the journey to forgiveness may be long and challenging.
4. Remember the Couple’s Uniqueness
When infidelity is involved, always remember that every marriage is exceptional, so what works for couple ‘A’ may not work for couple ‘B’.
Conclusion
Infidelity in marriage comes as a betrayal of trust to your partner, and the process of healing from it isn’t sudden. After infidelity, the couples should seek help from a professional, that where marriage counseling comes in. Marriage counseling is a bold step that the couples should take in other to address the root causes of infidelity, after the discovery, the process of working together to build the bridge. This enables couples together to rebuild trust and create a stronger marriage thereafter. While the journey of rebuilding trust in marriage may be difficult, when couples sail through this path successfully, it makes their marriage stronger. It’s vital to remember that infidelity, doesn’t means a marriage have ended. With the help of an experience marriage counselor and commitment of both partners, it is possible to find the way through this complex journey of infidelity.
