The Effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy on Emotional Experiences towards Spouse, Marital Burnout, and Family Relationships of Married Women

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of emotionally focused couple therapy on emotional experiences towards spouse, marital burnout, and family relationships of married women in the city of Isfahan. The study employed an experimental method (a two-group pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design).

Materials and Methods: The statistical population included all married women in the city of Isfahan in the year 2020. From this population, 40 women were selected and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (20 participants) or the control group (20 participants). The experimental group underwent 8 sessions of emotionally focused couple therapy, while the control group was placed on a waiting list. Data collection was conducted using three questionnaires: Emotional Experiences Towards Spouse by Ghaforahi and Yusefi (2018), Marital Burnout by Pines (1996), and Family Relationships by Olson and Barnes (1982). The educational package used in this study was derived from Greenberg, Warwar, and Malcolm (2010). Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate covariance analysis), with computations conducted via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.

Findings: The results of this analysis indicated that the therapy method had a significant positive impact on the research variables (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The results of multivariate covariance analysis demonstrated that emotionally focused couple therapy is effective in improving emotional experiences towards spouse, marital burnout, and family relationships among married women in the city of Isfahan.