Marilyn Jhung, Infidelity, Betrayal, and Relationship Crisis Specialist, MSW, LCSW, CPD, Coach

When a relationship is in crisis, the most stabilizing thing is a clear process held by someone who can stay steady under pressure. I work with individuals and couples facing high-stakes relationship pain — infidelity, betrayal, emotionally harmful patterns, painful breakups, repeated conflict, or the question of whether to stay or leave. My first priority is to help you slow the crisis down, restore enough truth to think clearly, and identify what needs attention first. In the early stage, this often means creating guardrails around communication, transparency, emotional escalation, and next steps so the crisis does not keep causing more damage. But I do not believe in only managing symptoms or helping people “get through” the crisis without understanding what it is revealing. Relationship pain often becomes a mirror. It exposes the unfinished places in each person — old wounds, unmet needs, shame, fear, avoidance, resentment, self-abandonment, protective defenses, and the ways each person has lost connection with their values, truth, or differentiated self. My work addresses both levels: what happened and what the rupture is asking you to understand, repair, release, or change. We do not minimize the injury, and we do not stop at the injury. I integrate Internal Family Systems, attachment work, psychodynamic insight, Transactional Analysis, differentiation, and core values approaches. Sessions are compassionate, active, and direct. I help clients identify the painful roles they fall into — pursuer and withdrawer, critic and shut-down partner, moral authority and shame-collapse partner, overfunctioner and avoider — and begin moving toward more accountable, emotionally mature connection. For couples, the work may lead toward rebuilding a more honest and trustworthy relationship — not the old relationship restored, but a more truthful one created. For others, the work may bring clarity that separation needs to be faced with integrity, care, and less destruction. For individuals, the work often becomes a path back to self-trust, dignity, boundaries, and choices that are more aligned with who they want to become. This is not passive, open-ended therapy. I actively guide the process, offer direct feedback, and help you stay focused on what matters. Best-fit clients are willing to look honestly at themselves, tolerate some discomfort, practice between sessions, and use the crisis as a turning point toward deeper self-understanding, accountability, and healthier love. The first step is a 60-minute consultation and strategy session to assess fit, clarify what is happening, and identify the most responsible next step for your situation.

I run a private, online practice for individuals and couples facing high-stakes relationship crises: infidelity, betrayal, gaslighting, emotionally harmful dynamics, painful breakups, and brink-of-divorce or breakup decisions. My work is structured, active, and direct. We address what is immediate and urgent first, while also getting to the deeper rupture underneath — the protective patterns, unmet needs, shame, avoidance, resentment, self-abandonment, and unfinished wounds that may be repeating in the relationship. The process begins with a consultation and strategy session to clarify what is happening, what needs attention first, and whether my approach is the right fit. From there, I may recommend focused individual work, joint sessions, extended sessions, repair preparation, discernment work, or a structured relationship plan. All sessions are online via Zoom. Therapy services are available to clients located in California. Coaching services may be available nationally or internationally when appropriate; coaching is not psychotherapy, diagnosis, or mental health treatment. My work addresses both the immediate crisis and the deeper rupture underneath: the protective patterns, unmet needs, shame, avoidance, resentment, self-abandonment, and unfinished wounds that may be repeating in the relationship.