Marital infidelity is an act that severely strains a relationship. When one partner has an affair, the other may feel lonely, devastated, betrayed, aggrieved, and confused. Even though the consequences of infidelity often lead to divorce and separation, where the couples are willing, they can instead find a therapist for online affair recovery counseling to help them repair their relationship and even stronger than ever.

Causes of Infidelity

According to research studies, adults in the United States generally prefer sexual monogamy in their marital relationships. However, close to 20 percent of them engage in extramarital sex at one point or another in their lives. There are lots of reasons why affairs happen, but the main reason gathered from studies is relationship dissatisfaction. For a relationship to be successful, feelings of stability, security, companionship as well as physical and emotional intimacy must be shared and experienced by both partners. Whenever one of these is lacking, dissatisfaction may rear its ugly head in the relationship hence increasing the likelihood of infidelity.

In addition to dissatisfaction, other reasons why a partner may engage in an extramarital affair include:

• Low self-esteem
• As a strategy to exit from or end the current relationship
• Lack of emotional intimacy
• Sexual addiction
• As a way to avoid relationship or personal problems
• Depression

According to statistics, men are 80 percent more likely to engage in adultery compared to women. Also, infidelity tends to occur with a high frequency among the youth especially those aged between 18 and 30.

Types of Infidelity

Infidelity in a relationship can occur in a variety of forms. Some of the common types of infidelity include:

Sexual Affair – This is where one partner has a sexual encounter outside the confines of the current marital relationship. However, apart from the intercourse, the affected partner experiences no emotional attachment to the external party.

Cyber Affair – This type of infidelity is committed through online chats and sexts (sex-oriented text messages). Cyber affairs do not normally reach the point of sexual intimacy but may involve viewing pornography, which may be categorized as a form of infidelity.

Emotional Affair – This is where one person becomes emotionally attached to another party other than their partner. This may be manifested through lengthy phone calls or online chats. Although this type of affair doesn't involve sexual intercourse, it can strain the existing relationship and therefore is considered an emotional infidelity.

It's important for partners in a marital relationship to discuss their expectations and views around monogamy and external relationships early enough to avoid future transgressions and disagreements. In cases of hard-to-reconcilable issues, you may want to seek online therapy for professional help.

Infidelity Therapy and Counseling

The manner in which couples cope after an affair critically depends on their personal or religious values around infidelity as well as their cultural backgrounds. It's always a good idea to seek the professional advice of a therapist to help you determine whether or not you should continue with the relationship and how to process your feelings around the incident.

An online therapist, at the Virtual Therapist Network, can give you a supportive platform to express your emotions regarding the infidelity and help you determine your needs and future goals in the relationship. In the event you choose to maintain the relationship, an online therapist will help both of you to rejuvenate and take your commitment to the relationship to a higher level. You will also benefit from specialized training on trust-building and professional guidance through the healing process.

The affair recovery process can be a lengthy one and there is no guarantee or steadfast rules determining how quickly the couple will recover from an affair. Among the factors hindering the recovery process include the couple's communication skills, personal responsibility acceptance, capacity for honesty, and tolerance for conflict.

The good news is infidelity can be resolved and relationships restored to normalcy.

The Virtual Therapist Network is a resourceful platform to help you find a therapist for online affair recovery counseling who will take you through the trauma phase, issues clarification stage, and assist you in addressing the infidelity problem comprehensively.