Deciding when to trust is hard, and finding the balance between when to or not to extend trust is essential to protecting your well-being, safety, and ability to fully thrive in your relationships.

Infidelity within a relationship causes a ripple effect that impacts multiple facets of the betrayed partner's life and lived experiences. It impacts our mind, body, and spirit. This multi-layered betrayal results in a type of trauma that is referred to as betrayal trauma.

The trauma of betrayal is earth-shattering, penetrating nearly every corner of life. Although the journey to betrayal trauma recovery is long and painful, many betrayed partners walk through these 5 steps, and with the support of their therapeutic team, overcome debilitating pain and reconnect with an even stronger self.

Betrayal trauma immensely impacts how we view sex and intimacy. Something that was supposed to bring healthy vulnerability now feels completely different. So, how do you heal? The key is to first rebuild emotional intimacy with your partner.

If you have been betrayed, the thought of forgiving your betrayer may seem undesirable and even impossible. So, why would you consider forgiveness at all and where do you start?

The road to partner recovery after betrayal can be long and difficult. While we cannot rush this process, knowing the 6 stages to recovery is a great place for anyone to start their healing journey.

You are managing a crisis and you must take care of you. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) describes crisis management as distress tolerance. The distress still remains, but you are able to tolerate the pain with some skills.

Some say that love is easy and blissful - something we fall into without control. But if you have been involved in betrayal—on either end—you know that love can be very complicated and even intensely painful. Real love requires an enormous amount of courage.

You have experienced betrayal, deception or gaslighting in a primary relationship. You are alone. You are confused. Are you going crazy? What in the world is happening?

You are not crazy. Betrayal trauma is happening. 

Because of the power of denial, the impact of betrayal, and the fact that few people broadcast their betrayal for others to learn from, many couples question if their experience is “valid” or if it should be “considered a betrayal.” It can be helpful to know that there are many types of betrayal, each with nuanced motivations, behaviors, and underlying issues.