Designing an Integrated Therapeutic Protocol for Couples Experiencing Emotional Infidelity with a Focus on Attachment, Forgiveness, Trust, and Reconstruction of the Relationship Narrative
Keywords:
emotional infidelity, couple therapy, attachment, forgiveness, trust, relationship narrative, thematic analysis, therapeutic protocolAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to design an integrated therapeutic protocol for couples experiencing emotional infidelity, with a simultaneous focus on repairing attachment insecurity, facilitating realistic forgiveness, rebuilding trust, and reconstructing the damaged relational narrative.
Methods and Materials: This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants included 24 individuals, equivalent to 12 couples, recruited from counseling centers in Tehran, Iran, who had experienced emotional infidelity and sought help for relational repair. Purposive sampling was used to ensure variation in age, length of marriage, educational level, and time elapsed since disclosure. Data were collected only through semi-structured individual interviews. Sampling continued until theoretical saturation; saturation was achieved at the twenty-first interview, and three additional interviews were conducted to confirm data adequacy. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using NVivo software according to Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework. Credibility and trustworthiness were enhanced through member checking, peer debriefing, an audit trail, reflexive memo writing, and continuous comparison of codes and themes.
Findings: The analysis yielded five main categories: “collapse of attachment security and activation of protest/withdrawal cycles,” “ambiguity of relational boundaries and emotional-digital secrecy,” “forgiveness conditional on reparative responsibility,” “trust reconstructed through transparency, predictability, and sustained responsiveness,” and “reconstruction of the relationship narrative from betrayal to repair.” Based on these categories, a 12-session therapeutic protocol was designed in four phases: stabilization and relational safety, processing the attachment injury, forgiveness and trust rebuilding, and reconstruction of the shared relationship narrative.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that emotional infidelity is not merely a behavioral violation but a multilayered relational injury that disrupts attachment security, identity meanings, everyday trust, and the couple’s shared narrative. Therefore, an effective intervention for these couples should move beyond stopping the external relationship and should address attachment repair, accountable responsibility, non-premature forgiveness, behavioral trust building, and the creation of a renewed shared narrative.
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References
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