Identifying the attitude of family counselors towards the causes of extramarital affairs of couples in Tehran

The family, as a valuable institution, has been considered in all cultures for its very important functions. Therefore, it is necessary to properly recognize everything that damages the structure of the family and take action to correct it.The phenomenon of extramarital affairs, as one of the harms of the family, in recent decades has had adverse consequences for the individual, family and society. Depression, loss of spouse trust, emotional divorce, and separation are some of the consequences.This study aims to explain the mental patterns of family counselors in relation to the emergence of the issue of extramarital affairs of couples in Tehran by using the Q method. Since this method is one of the practical methods in discovering mental patterns, this method has been used. In this study, 15 family counselors participated, and finally, 5 mental models (environmentalists, familyists, believers, communists and psychologists) were discovered and explained as a mental model in the emergence of these relationships. To describe these 5 mindsets, 34 factors extracted from scientific research have been used.