Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy

Aim: The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Couple Therapy (ACCT) and Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) on infertile women's sexual attitudes. Method: This quasi-experimental investigation included a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design, with a control group. The statistics population comprised all infertile women aged 25 to 45 with infertility for more than five years, a total of 171 women who visited Novin Infertility Clinic in Mashhad in 2022. 45 participants who met the inclusion criteria were chosen and matched according to education level and length of infertility. They were divided equally into three groups of fifteen each. Following the pre-test, the experimental groups were assigned to either the ACCT based on Hayes and Strosahl's (2010) or the EFCT based on Johnson's (2008) treatment programs, which consisted of eight weekly 90-minute sessions. Following this, a post-test and a three-month follow-up were conducted. The research tool used was the Dehghani Sexual Attitude Questionnaire (2005). Data were analyzed using SPSS-27. Findings: The results revealed a substantial difference in the efficacy of ACCT and EFCT in altering sexual attitudes among infertile women. Both therapy were successful, however ACCT produced more consistent outcomes during the follow-up period. Although EFCT increased sexual attitude posttest scores compared to the pre-test, the results did not remain constant in the follow-up phase, with a little decrease. Both medications were beneficial, although ACCT had a longer-lasting influence. Conclusion: The results showed that ACCT had a greater impact on modifying sexual attitudes than EFCT.

Objective: The current study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) on intimacy, marital adjustment, and forgiveness among couples with a history of extramarital affairs. Methods: The research design was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group. The study population included all women in Tehran who were affected by their husbands' extramarital relationships in 2022. A sample of 30 women affected by such relationships and visiting counseling centers in District 2 of Tehran was selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group in equal numbers. The research instruments included the Thompson and Walker (1983) Intimacy Scale, the Spanier (1976) Marital Adjustment Questionnaire, and the Rye et al. (2001) Forgiveness Questionnaire. The experimental group received EFCT in eight 60-minute sessions over a month; the control group was placed on a waiting list. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with the aid of SPSS version 23 software. Findings: The findings indicated that EFCT significantly improved intimacy (p < 0.01), marital adjustment (p < 0.01), and marital forgiveness (p < 0.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy effectively enhances intimacy, adjustment, and forgiveness in couples with a history of extramarital affairs.