ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two concepts, trust and commitment, and the role they play in love relationships. It also examines the consequences of the ability of couples to effectively build a trusting relationship as well as the destructive impact of the erosion of trust. The chapter addresses the ability of couples to build commitment and loyalty as well as the impact of betrayal. It discusses how the Gottman "Sound Relationship House" (SRH) theory applies to therapy. The SRH became a major theory in couple therapy, popular throughout the world among clinicians and couples. A three-phase model of recovery from betrayal was developed; the phases are atonement, attunement, and attachment. Atonement involves recognizing the hurt partner probably has posttraumatic stress. The attunement Method helps partners understand each other's meta-emotions. Meta-emotions are feelings and philosophies about emotions and emotional expression. The attunement phase of the therapy is about dealing with the couple's conflict avoidance and attuning to one another.
