Marilyn Jhung, MSW, LCSW, CPD, Coach | Infidelity Therapist | Couples Counseling | Betrayal Specialist | Infidelity Crisis Stabilization, Assessment & Roadmap

When trust has been broken, it can feel as though the ground underneath the relationship has shifted. The betrayed partner may be trying to make sense of what is true while managing shock, anger, fear, and repeated questions. The partner who broke trust may be facing shame, panic, fear of losing the relationship or family, and pressure to explain behavior they may not yet fully understand. Couples are often trying to make major decisions while neither person feels emotionally steady enough to think clearly. The first priority is to slow the crisis down. We identify what requires attention now, reduce unnecessary re-injury, and begin separating what is known from what remains uncertain. I do not rush couples toward forgiveness, reconciliation, or separation. I use the term infidelity broadly to include sexual, emotional, financial, spiritual, and social betrayals. What these experiences share is a breach of trust and of the relationship’s explicit or implicit commitments and agreements—often through secrecy, concealment, omissions, or behavior that creates a divided reality between partners. Truth is the starting point—not because truth alone repairs a relationship, but because meaningful clarity cannot be built on an incomplete reality. The work first focuses on what happened, what remains unresolved, what may still be hidden or uncertain, the impact of the betrayal, and what safety and accountability require now. The goal is to restore enough shared reality and emotional steadiness to create a stable foundation for whatever comes next. Once enough truth and stability exist, the work can go deeper. The betrayal is the crisis that brings the couple in, but the deeper work is helping each person become more conscious of the parts of themselves and the patterns in the relationship that may have been operating outside awareness. For the partner who broke trust, this may include the painful gap between conscious values and actual behavior—the experience of thinking, “This isn’t who I am,” while also having to face the choices that were made. Parts, needs, conflicts, defenses, attachment patterns, or other dynamics outside awareness may help explain what influenced those choices. They do not remove responsibility for them. Understanding does not erase accountability. The broader structure of the work is Truth ~ Clarity ~ Confidence. We begin by restoring enough truth, shared reality, and emotional steadiness to understand what happened, what remains unresolved, and what needs attention first. From there, the work can move toward a deeper, fuller truth—what the betrayal is revealing about each person, the relationship, and the patterns that may have been operating outside awareness. That deeper clarity can support more intentional, value-aligned choices. For couples who intentionally choose to remain together, the work can continue beyond that decision. The focus becomes learning how to live the choice with greater awareness, responsibility, differentiation, and alignment with the values each person wants to bring into the relationship. My role is not to decide whether you should stay, leave, reconcile, or end the relationship. It is to help create enough truth, emotional steadiness, and clarity for you to understand what you are facing and determine your most responsible next step.

There are two ways to begin, depending on how much depth you want at the outset. Option 1): A 60-Minute Consultation & Fit Session is a substantive first clinical meeting. We focus on what is happening, what feels most urgent, and what appears to need attention first. You also have an opportunity to experience how I think and work, ask questions, and determine whether the fit makes sense before deciding on a larger next step. OR Option 2) : A 3-Hour Comprehensive Assessment & Roadmap Intensive is for individuals or couples who want a deeper clinical assessment from the outset. The extended time allows us to understand the presenting crisis more fully, identify important individual and relationship dynamics, clarify what may be keeping the problem in place, and distinguish what needs attention now from what may require deeper work later. You leave with a personalized roadmap for next steps. Either option can stand on its own. Continuing therapy with me is not required. Depending on what has brought you here, our work may focus on: • INDIVIDUALS WHO BROKE TRUST — For women and men whose betrayal has been discovered or exposed and who are trying to face what happened, understand what accountability requires now, and make sense of choices that may feel inconsistent with who they believe themselves to be. • ACUTE INFIDELITY CRISIS — For couples in the immediate aftermath of discovery. The first work is to contain the crisis, understand what each partner is facing, clarify what is known and unresolved, and determine what needs attention before trying to solve the future of the relationship. • TRUTH RESTORATION — For couples dealing with omissions, changing accounts, trickle truth, hidden information, or repeated discoveries. When shared reality remains unstable, the work begins by clarifying what is known, what remains unresolved, and what is needed for greater truth, accountability, and steadiness. • STILL STUCK AFTER INFIDELITY — For couples who stayed together but remain caught in mistrust, recurring triggers, resentment, shame, defensiveness, withdrawal, or emotional distance despite time, previous therapy, or attempts at repair. We look at what remains unfinished and what may now be keeping the relationship stuck. • MARRIAGE DECISION CLARITY — For couples at the brink of divorce or in a mixed-agenda marriage, when one partner may be leaning out while the other hopes to preserve the relationship. The work clarifies what brought the marriage to this point and what each possible path would require before making a life-changing decision. What follows depends on what becomes clear through the initial work. The appropriate next step may be individual therapy, structured couples work, Truth Restoration, decision-focused work, another specialist, or time to consider the options identified. When I recommend further work, I explain what I am recommending, why I believe it may be useful, what the process would involve, and the fees before you decide whether to proceed. My psychotherapy practice is entirely telehealth for clients physically located in California. For highly personal relationship concerns, Zoom can provide privacy, discretion, convenience, and flexibility for people whose work, responsibilities, travel, or visibility make those considerations important. You do not need to know which starting option or type of work fits before reaching out. Share what is happening and what prompted you to seek help now, and I can help you identify the most appropriate place to begin.