مهریار عناصری

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of existential group therapy on the impact of the event and self-monitoring in parents experiencing anticipatory disabling grief related to their child. Methods: This research employed a quasi-experimental method with a pretest-posttest two-group design. The statistical population consisted of all parents experiencing anticipatory disabling grief related to their child in Tehran, who sought psychological treatment at the "Lost Piece" Counseling and Psychotherapy Center in 2024. A total of 20 individuals were selected using a non-random purposive sampling method and then randomly assigned to two groups: 10 participants in the experimental group and 10 in the control group. The experimental group participated in ten 90-minute sessions of existential group therapy. Ultimately, following attrition, 8 participants successfully completed the treatment. The control group did not receive any intervention. It should be noted that in order to maintain equivalence between the experimental and control groups, a number of participants equal to the attrition in the experimental group were randomly removed from the control group as well. This study utilized the Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R), the Self-Monitoring Questionnaire, and the Anticipatory Grief Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The Findings: results indicated a significant difference between the posttest mean scores of the experimental and control groups. Existential group therapy significantly improved both the impact of the event and self-monitoring among parents experiencing anticipatory disabling grief related to their child. Conclusion: These findings highlight its therapeutic value in addressing anticipatory disabling grief through meaning-making and emotional integration.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of paradoxical couple therapy on self-differentiation, communication beliefs, and marital intimacy in couples experiencing marital conflict. Method: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up, using a control group. The statistical population consisted of all couples with marital conflict in Tehran in 2023. Fourteen couples experiencing marital conflict were selected using a non-random, purposive sampling method, and then, through random assignment, 7 couples were assigned to the experimental group and 7 couples to the control group. The experimental group participated in 8 sessions of paradoxical couple therapy, and after dropouts, 6 participants successfully completed the therapy. The control group received no intervention. To match the number of participants, couples were randomly excluded from the control group to account for dropouts in the experimental group. The study utilized questionnaires measuring self-differentiation, communication beliefs, and marital intimacy. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and SPSS 22 software. Findings: The findings indicated that there was a significant difference between the post-test mean scores of the experimental and control groups. Paradoxical couple therapy significantly improved self-differentiation (F = 4.93, p = 0.035) and marital intimacy (F = 41.16, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, interventions based on the paradoxical approach can effectively improve self-differentiation, communication beliefs, and marital intimacy.