Infidelity recovery / INF-A11-3
Trigger and Grounding Plan — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about trigger and grounding plan while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Lee finds a familiar location unexpectedly upsetting.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. Reminders of betrayal can be met with individualized support and choice.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore trigger and grounding plan using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: Reminders of betrayal can be met with individualized support and choice. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Map an ordinary reminder, current reactions, an external grounding option, and a support request without exposure practice. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: Lee finds a familiar location unexpectedly upsetting.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What would help in the moment without requiring a discussion immediately? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What would help in the moment without requiring a discussion immediately?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
Conceptual background
Integrative Model of Affair Recovery — American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.