Effectiveness of Psychodynamic Therapy on Marital Relationship Quality and Cognitive Emotion Regulation in Couples with Marital Conflicts
Keywords:
Psychodynamic therapy, Marital relationship quality, Cognitive emotion regulation, Couples, Marital conflictsAbstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy on the quality of marital relationships and cognitive emotion regulation in couples experiencing marital conflicts.
Methods and Materials: This research employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest and a control group. The statistical population consisted of couples with marital conflicts residing in Babol in 2023. From this population, 28 individuals (14 couples) were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 14) or the control group (n = 14). Data were collected using standardized questionnaires measuring marital relationship quality and cognitive emotion regulation. The experimental group received psychodynamic therapy over 12 sessions (two 90-minute sessions per week), while the control group did not receive any treatment.
Findings: The findings indicated that the posttest scores of both marital relationship quality and cognitive emotion regulation in the experimental group were significantly higher than the pretest scores.
Conclusion: Therefore, psychodynamic therapy was found to be effective in improving marital relationship quality and cognitive emotion regulation among couples with marital conflicts.
Downloads
References
Ahmadi, S., Azadfallah, P., & Farahani, H. (2018). The effect of CCRT based Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy on marital satisfaction. Journal of Family Research, 14(4), 497-514. https://jfr.sbu.ac.ir/article_97687_1ce1614f032ca2aa2f518b0ab41e5d5d.pdf
Balali Dehkordi, N., & Fatehizade, M. (2022). Comparison of the effectiveness of Emotion-focused Therapy and Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy on marital adjustment of married women with experience of complex childhood trauma. Counseling Culture and Psycotherapy, 13(51), 31-57. https://doi.org/10.22054/qccpc.2022.65682.2871
Jarareh, J., & Taleh-Pasand, S. (2011). The Effects of Management of Tactical Defenses in Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Coupleâs Satisfaction. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 3(2), 13-21. https://doi.org/10.22075/jcp.2017.2050
Karimi, Z., Ghamari, M., & Hosseinian, S. (2024). Comparison of the Effectiveness of Unified Transdiagnostic Treatment and Short Term Psychodynamic Therapy on the Spiritual Health of Women Affected by Marital Infidelity. Psychology of Woman Journal, 5(1), 73-83. https://doi.org/10.61838/kman.pwj.5.1.9
Kashefi, F., Azkhosh, M., Khanjani, M. S., & Aghae, H. (2024). The Effectiveness of Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Sensation Seeking and Tendency to Marital Infidelity in Married Women. Journal of Applied Psychological Research. https://doi.org/10.22059/japr.2024.360977.644655
Kashefi, F., Azkhosh, M., Khanjani, M. S., & Aghaei, H. (2023). The Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Self-Differentiation and Attachment Behavior in Couple Relationships in Women with Tendency to Marital Infidelity. Iranian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing, 11(1), 0-0. https://mail.ijpn.ir/article-1-2100-en.pdf
Mami, S., Safarniya, A., Tardast, L., & Abbasi, B. (2020). The effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) on reducing emotional dysregulation in women seeking divorce. Psychological studies, 16(4), 127-142. https://www.sid.ir/paper/505791/fa
Mehboodi, K., Mohammadi, N., Rahimi, C., & Sarafraz, M. R. (2022). The efficacy of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) on self-esteem, emotion regulation, and defense mechanisms in men with social anxiety disorder [Research]. Journal of Psychological Science, 21(111), 461-474. https://doi.org/10.52547/jps.21.111.461
Mobassem, S. (2022). Content analysis of defense mechanisms of a woman with marital conflict in intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy sessions: A case study. Journal of Alternative Medicine Research, 14(2). https://openurl.ebsco.com/EPDB%3Agcd%3A3%3A5174339/detailv2?sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Ascholar&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A162045131&crl=c
Mobassem, S., Delavar, A., Karami, A., Sana'i, B., & Shafi'abadi, A. (2012). Evaluating the effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy in decreasing marital conflict in women. Clinical Psychology Studies, 3(9), 81-102. https://jcps.atu.ac.ir/article_2048_en.html
Moradzadeh Khorasani, A., Mirzaeian, B., & Hassanzadeh, R. (2020). The effectiveness of Davanloo's intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy on emotion regulation difficulties and self-harm behaviors in individuals without suicidal intent. Nursing research, 15(6), 86-104. https://sid.ir/paper/953621/fa
Parisuz, A., Najarpourian, S., & Mohammadi, K. (2019). The Effect of Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Marital Conflicts and Interpersonal Processing of Married Women with Emotional Divorce. Iranian Evolutionary and Educational Psychology Journal, 1(2), 112-122. https://doi.org/10.29252/IEEPJ.1.2.112
Ranjbar Bahadori, S., Taklavi, S., & Kazemi, R. (2022). The effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy on emotional expressiveness and differentiation betrayed women. frooyesh, 11(1), 113-124. http://frooyesh.ir/article-1-3219-en.html
Sarafraz, M., & Moradi, S. (2022). The effect of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) on attachment styles in women with marital conflicts [Research]. Journal of Psychology New Ideas, 14(18), 1-20. http://jnip.ir/article-1-802-en.html
Shams, S., Ghelichkhan, N., Yousefi, N., & Alijani, S. (2022). Comparison of the Effectiveness of Short Term Intensive Dynamic Psychotherapy and Mentalization Based Therapy on Emotional Dysregulation, Defense Mechanisms and Insecure Attachment Styles in Women Who Have Experienced the Trauma of Marital Infidelity. International Journal of Psychology and Counselling, 10(1), 106-121. http://ijpn.ir/article-1-1964-en.html
Ziapour, A., Hajiazizi, A., Ahmadi, M., & Dehghan, F. (2023). Effect of short-term dynamic psychotherapy on sexual function and marital satisfaction in women with depression: Clinical trial study. Health Science Reports, 6(6), e1370. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1370
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ommolbanin Araee (Corresponding Author); Rajabali Mohammadzadeh Admolaee (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
