LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES! Dr. Chris Donaghue sets the record straight on the role of cheating in today’s relationships and what it means for partnerships of tomorrow. But first, Layperson Elaine admits to a guilty past. TOPICS: Dr. Chris answers many questions, including, “Is cheating avoidable?,” “Where’s the line?,” and “How can you tell if a relationship is salvageable?”. ALSO: Sandra in DC, Giving in to Temptation, Signs of a Healthy Relationship, Craving Diversity, Statistics, Cyber Sex, Fluid Boundaries, Uncomfortable Feelings, Absolute Chaos, Handling Jealousy & Anxiety, Cultural Changes, “Relationshipping,” Romantic Comedies, Conflict vs Pain, Dopamine Highs, Rage, Lifelong Partnership Building, Novelty, Honoring Your Needs, Villainizing the Cheater, Loss of Attraction, Aging and Libido Mismatches. Wow! Feelings!
Dr. Chris Donaghue is a licensed clinical therapist, nationally certified sex therapist and doctor of clinical sexology and human sexuality.
Dr. Donaghue specializes in the sexuality spectrum and sexually-related compulsive behaviors such as sexual compulsivity/sex addiction, as well as marital and relational disorders. Dr. Donaghue runs his own private practice specializing in individual and couples sex therapy. Dr. Donaghue also runs sex addiction, love addiction, and healthy sexuality therapy groups.
Dr. Donaghue received his Doctoral degree in Clinical Sexology and Human Sexuality, his Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work and completed Doctoral training in Clinical Psychology.  Dr. Donaghue trained in couples and sex therapy at Florida’s Post Graduate Sex Therapy training program, UCLA, Sexual Recovery Institute and the Center for Healthy Sex. Dr. Donaghue is the former Clinical Director and Program Director at La Ventana Rehab’s Sexual Addiction Program. He is a member of American Association of Sex Counselors, Educators, and Therapists (AASECT) and the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS).
Dr. Donaghue is nationally recognized as a sex and relationship expert, appearing on Logo TV’s Bad Sex, and having been featured in Newsweek, and seen on CNN, OWN, and Lifechangers With Dr. Drew, and National Geographic.
His first book, “The New Sex,†focuses on being sex positive, which means challenging our sex phobic and sex negative culture. It also explores the neurology of sex, acceptance of everything sexual and sexual diversity, acknowledging individual sexuality and natural sexual biology.
His personal website and blog is www.chrisdonaghue.com. Follow him on Twitter (@ChrisDonaghue)
Just a comment on this professional who is insisting that 60-70% of relationships have a cheating partner. He is being presented with VERY biased sample groups who are seeking His counseling. People often wait to seek counseling until they are at a crisis point at which time it is much more likely that a cheating event would have occurred. If his assertions and theories are based on that sort of experience With clients then they may be value add for couples in those situations but they cannot then be extended throughout all monogamous relationships. Are there multiple peer reviewed and repeatable studies that bolster this view? Ultimately, many of us won’t want to invest in relationships at all if this becomes the prevailing view and I think that for the average person there is a lot of enjoyment from being able to trust a partner not to cheat. Certainly a dialogue about what counts as cheating is valuable but assuming that cheating WILL happen is far too great of an emotional burden for many people to live under. The assumption of fidelity can be very valuable to an average person’s mental health.
I don’t understand the push towards acceptance of cheating. If you don’t want to be in a monogamous relationship, then be honest and talk to your partner. Cheating is dishonest and cowardly.