Finding out about an affair can turn your world upside down in a single moment. So can being the one who had it and now faces the damage. Either way, you may be swinging between anger, grief, shame and a desperate need to know what happens next. With affair recovery counselling, Cambridge couples and individuals get a structured, safe place to slow things down. This post covers whether to start together or alone, what a first consult is for, who on our Cambridge team works with infidelity, how to fit sessions into a hard season and what research says.
This post is general information, not a diagnosis or medical advice.
Affair recovery counselling in Cambridge, the short answer
Affair recovery counselling is therapy that helps people work through the aftermath of infidelity. It can be couples sessions, individual sessions or a mix of both, with a clinician who has experience with betrayal and trust repair.
The goal isn't to force a decision about staying or leaving. It's to help you understand what happened, steady the emotional storm and make choices from a clearer place. Some couples rebuild. Some separate with less damage. Both outcomes can be supported. Many people are surprised to learn that counselling is useful even when they have no idea yet which way they are leaning. Uncertainty is a normal place to begin.
Together, alone or both
One of the first questions people ask is whether to come in as a couple or on their own. There's no single right answer, and many people do some of each.
Together can make sense when both partners want to try, are willing to be honest and can be in a room without things escalating.
Alone can help when you are too raw to sit with your partner yet, unsure whether you want to stay, or need space to sort out your own feelings first.
Both is common: individual sessions alongside couples counselling after an affair, Cambridge clients find, can give each person room to process while the relationship work continues.
For a step-by-step look at what sessions usually cover, from the first meeting through rebuilding trust, read our post on what happens in affair recovery counselling. This post focuses on getting started here in Cambridge.
What the first Cambridge consult is for
The free 15-minute consultation is a short phone call with our admin team, not a therapy session. It's a chance to say, in a sentence or two, what has happened and what kind of help you are looking for. From there, the team can suggest a clinician who works with infidelity and help you decide on couples, individual or both.
Early on, your counsellor will usually focus on a few things:
Safety first. If there are concerns about safety at home, that comes before anything else.
Timing of joint sessions. Sometimes it helps to wait a little before meeting together, so the first joint session doesn't become a fight.
What not to decide yet. In the first weeks, emotions are at their peak. Your counsellor may encourage you to hold off on permanent decisions until things are calmer.
Cambridge clinicians who work with infidelity
Several clinicians on our Cambridge team list infidelity among the areas they work with, and they see adults and couples. When you look for an affair recovery therapist, Cambridge residents can browse our Cambridge therapists page to read about the team, or simply tell our admin team what you need and let them suggest a good match.
Some clinicians who work with infidelity see clients online only, so you have choices beyond the in-person offices. If you or your partner has a strong preference about the therapist's style or availability, mention it in your consultation.
Infidelity counselling, Cambridge couples often say, works best when both people feel the counsellor is fair. A good therapist won't take sides, even when one partner was clearly hurt. Their job is to help both of you understand the pattern and decide what comes next.
If you are the partner who had the affair
People who had the affair often come in feeling ashamed, defensive or confused about why it happened. Some want to repair things right away. Others aren't sure what they want. Individual counselling can give you room to look honestly at your choices without being reduced to the worst thing you've done.
Your counsellor can help you understand what led up to the affair, take real responsibility, and learn how to respond to your partner's pain without shutting down or arguing. That kind of steady accountability is often what makes rebuilding possible, whatever you both decide.
Fitting sessions around work and family
An affair rarely happens in a quiet season. You may be juggling work, children and the practical fallout all at once. Our Cambridge Main Street office offers counselling seven days a week, in person in Galt City Centre or online.
Online sessions can help when childcare is tight, when one partner travels or when you'd rather talk from the privacy of home. Some couples alternate between in-person and online depending on the week. For online couples sessions, both partners need to be in Ontario during the session. You can also have individual sessions online and joint sessions in person, or the other way around.
If you share children, try to keep their routines steady while the adults work things out. Your counsellor can help you think about what to say to kids, and what not to say, at their age.
What the research says, honestly
Research offers a realistic picture. In clinical trials of one well-studied form of couple therapy, couples dealing with infidelity benefited from treatment in the short term. Over the long run, these couples were more likely to separate. But those who stayed together improved as much as couples who had not faced infidelity.
A review of research on infidelity describes how much damage an affair can do, and how recovery is complex. It also notes that therapists who had specific training in infidelity felt more prepared and confident treating it. That's one reason it helps to work with someone who lists infidelity as an area of focus.
Our Cambridge offices
We see clients at two Cambridge locations, and every service is offered at both. The Main Street office is at 188 Main Street, Cambridge, ON N1R 1W8, (519) 621-8858. The Water Street office is at 73 Water St N, Suite 300, Cambridge, ON N1R 7L6, (519) 340-5778, and sees children from age 6, teens and adults.
Therapy after cheating, Cambridge, Ontario couples tell us, feels more manageable when the logistics are simple. Choose whichever location or format makes it easiest to show up.
Cost, billing and your first step
Sessions with our therapists range from $130 to $200, depending on the clinician.
Depending on your plan, insurance may cover up to 100% of the cost. Our insurance page explains what to check.
We accept Health Spending Accounts (HSAs).
We can direct bill many insurers, including for sessions with an RP (Qualifying). Desjardins is the exception: through TELUS eClaims, we can direct bill Desjardins for sessions with an RSW, RP or psychologist, but not for an RP (Qualifying).
Book a free 15-minute consultation with our admin team to talk about what has happened and whether couples, individual or both kinds of sessions would suit you.
If you're in crisis: if you or anyone else is in immediate danger, call 911. If you're having thoughts of suicide, call or text 9-8-8 any time.
Broken trust is painful, but it doesn't have to be the end of the story you tell about yourselves.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Sources
Christensen A, Doss BD. Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, Current Opinion in Psychology, 2017
Rokach A, Chan SH. Love and Infidelity: Causes and Consequences, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023