Heather Coburn, PhD, RSW, RMFT
DISSERTATION TITLE:
Together After Infidelity: A Relational Story of Moving Forward
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
2018
ABSTRACT
Infidelity is a frequently occurring and painful problem for couples
and while many couples stay together and enjoy a positive relationship,
their stories are largely absent from the professional research-based
literature. The focus of this inquiry is, what do couples say about how
they are moving forward together after infidelity? The framework of
Research As Daily Practice (Wulff & St. George, 2014, 2016) was used
to guide this inquiry and I conducted in-depth interviews with 12
couples. These couples are in committed living apart, cohabitating, and
married relationships spanning a few years to over 30 years and partners
range in age from early 20s to early 60s. Thematic analysis was used to
identify themes associated with moving forward and the IPscope (Tomm,
1991, 2014b), a systemic clinical practice tool that foregrounds
relational dynamics was used to describe the particular interpersonal
patterns that contributed to moving forward together. The findings of
this inquiry highlight that moving forward after infidelity is a
relational experience and offer practitioners conversational resources
in their work with individuals and couples dealing with infidelity.
