Effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy Training on Alexithymia and Perceived Stress in Women Affected by Infidelity
Keywords:
emotionally focused couple therapy, alexithymia, perceived stress, infidelity.Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of compassion-based positive couple therapy and emotionally focused couple therapy on emotional experience toward spouse among young couples in Tehran.
Methods and Materials: This applied study employed a semi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up phase. The statistical population consisted of young couples referring to counseling and psychological service clinics in District 5 of Tehran between July 2024 and March 2025. Using purposive sampling, 45 couples were selected and assigned into two experimental groups and one control group, with 15 couples in each group. The first experimental group received compassion-based positive couple therapy, while the second experimental group participated in emotionally focused couple therapy. Both interventions were implemented in fifteen two-hour sessions conducted twice weekly. The control group remained on a waiting list and received no intervention during the study period. Data were collected using the Emotional Experience Toward Spouse Questionnaire developed by Yusefi and Ghaffaralehi. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-26 through descriptive statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of variance, and Bonferroni post hoc tests.
Findings: The results indicated significant effects of group, time, and group-by-time interaction on positive and negative emotional experiences toward spouse (p < .001). Both compassion-based positive couple therapy and emotionally focused couple therapy significantly increased positive emotional experiences and reduced negative emotional experiences compared with the control group. Bonferroni post hoc comparisons demonstrated that the intervention groups achieved significantly better outcomes than the control group at the posttest stage (p < .001). Pairwise comparisons further revealed significant improvements from pretest to posttest and from pretest to follow-up in both intervention groups, while no significant differences were observed between posttest and follow-up stages, indicating the stability of treatment effects over time.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that both compassion-based positive couple therapy and emotionally focused couple therapy are effective interventions for improving emotional experiences toward spouse among young couples. These approaches appear to strengthen emotional intimacy, emotional responsiveness, and adaptive emotional interactions while reducing negative emotional experiences and relational distress. Therefore, the application of emotion-centered and compassion-oriented therapeutic interventions may play an important role in promoting marital well-being and emotional stability among couples.
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