Healing the Trauma of Infidelity: Powerful Skills for Rebuilding Trust and Attachment to Find Love, Commitment, and Intimacy Again

Rebuild after betrayal with this trauma-informed guide--based on the powerful Gottman Method for helping couples heal from infidelity.

If your partner has been unfaithful to you, you no doubt feel deeply hurt, betrayed, disoriented and confused, angry, and emotionally overwhelmed. You may have feelings of distrust toward your partner, or worry that nothing will ever be the same between you again. You aren't alone. Infidelity--whether an emotional or sexual affair--is all-too-common, and can leave you feeling broken inside. So, how can you heal the trauma of infidelity and rebuild trust with your partner?

Written by a psychologist and based on the Gottman Method for couples therapy, this book outlines a powerful, trauma-informed approach to help you and your partner heal from infidelity, strengthen love and intimacy, and rebuild trust after betrayal. You'll find skills to help you cultivate a deeper bond with your partner--one that builds on friendship and shared experiences. You'll also learn to set healthy boundaries, and manage the difficult and intense emotions that can occur after infidelity.

This book offers an evidence-based, three-phase approach to healing after infidelity:

• The Atonement Phase: Deal with the crisis of discovery and disclosure
• The Attunement Phase: Develop skills to address--rather than avoid--the relationship issues that contributed to infidelity and rebuild friendship
• The Attachment Phase: Work on physical and emotional intimacy and vulnerability

Infidelity is painful and often traumatic, but it doesn't have to end or cloud your relationship forever. The powerful approach in this compassionate guide will help you and your partner make the positive changes needed to sustain a healthy connection for years to come.

William M. Bumberry, PhD, is a licensed psychologist with more than twenty-five years' experience treating couples. He is a Certified Gottman Therapist, Consultant, and Senior Trainer. Bumberry has been affiliated with the Gottman Institute for more than two decades. He has conducted more than a hundred Gottman professional trainings nationally and internationally, and is passionate about helping clinicians bring the Gottman Method into their life's work. He is a member of the American Psychological Association. In addition to his expertise in the Gottman Method, Bumberry is certified in emotionally focused therapy (EFT). He is coauthor of Dancing with the Family and Reshaping Family Relationships. He has a couples-based private practice in St. Louis, MO.

Foreword writer John Flanagan, AMHSW, is partner at the Relationship Institute of Australasia, and principal at Burleigh Heads Psychology and Relationship Clinic. He is a mental health-accredited social worker with a masters in Gestalt therapy, and is an Advanced Clinical Trainer and Consultant with the Gottman Institute.

Foreword writer Trish Purnell-Webb, MPsych(Clin), is partner at the Relationship Institute of Australasia. She is a clinical psychologist, Certified Gottman Therapist, Advanced Clinical Trainer, and Consultant for the Gottman Institute.