The effectiveness of emotion- focused couple therapy on emotional divorce and the quality of the relationship with the spouse's family

Document Type : Original

Authors

1 MA in guidance and counseling, Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

2 PhD in Counseling, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

doi.org/10.34785/J015.2019.008

Abstract

Emotional divorce between couples and the lack of a proper relationship with spouse's family can lead to divorce; therefore, it is necessary to find ways to improve the emotional divorce and relationship with spouse's family. Thus, this study was done aimed to evaluation the effectiveness of emotion- focused couple therapy (EFCT) on emotional divorce and the quality of the relationship with the spouse's family. Design of this study was semi-experimental type as pretest-posttest with control group. Statistical population consisted of all couples referring to the center of counseling of the Al-Quran Central District of Karaj in 2018. The sample studied were all 12 couples (24 subjects) who were selected through targeted sampling method and were divided randomly into two groups- under training and control and members of the experimental group received emotion- focused couple therapy at center of counseling of the Al-Quran Central District in 2018. For collection data was used from Emotional Divorce Scale (EDS) and Questionnaire of the Relationships Quality with In-Law. Data Analyzing was conducted with MANCOVA and SPSS-22. The results showed that apart from quality of relationship between couples with original family (F = 0.053, sig = 0.820), there were a significant difference between the experimental and control group in the emotional divorce (F = 92.56, sig = 0.001) and other dimensions of the quality of the relationship with the spouse's family (p < 0.05). According to findings this study, emotion-focused couple therapy can be used as an effective method in improving emotional divorce and quality of relationship with in-laws in marital counseling. 

Keywords

References

Burgess Moser, M., Johnson, S. M., Dalgleish, T. L., Lafontaine, M. F., Wiebe, S. A., & Tasca, G. A. (2016). Changes in relationship‐specific attachment in emotionally focused couple therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42(2), 231-245. Link
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological bulletin, 112(1), 155. Link
Dixon, D. C. (2013). Christian spirituality and marital health: A phenomenological study of long-term marriages. A doctoral dissertation in counseling. Liberty University. Link
Dronkers, J., Kalmijn, M., & Wagner, M. (2006). Causes and consequences of divorce: Cross-national and cohort differences, an introduction to this special issue. European Sociological Review, 22(5), 479-481. Link
Dung Le, T. M. (2008). Vietnamese Couples' Perceptions of the Factors that Contribute to Satisfaction in Long-Term Marriages. A Master Dissertation in social work. University of Manitoba. Link
Erola, J., Härkönen, J., & Dronkers, J. (2012). More careful or less marriageable? Parental divorce, spouse selection and entry into marriage. Social Forces, 90(4), 1323-1345. Link
Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N. (2015). The seven principles for making marriage work: A practical guide from the country's foremost relationship expert. Harmony. Link
Greenberg, L. S. (2016). Emotion-focused therapy: An overview. Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 4(33), 1-12. Link
Greenberg, L. S., & Watson, J. C. (2006). Emotion-focused therapy for depression. American Psychological Association.
Greenberg, L., Warwar, S., & Malcolm, W. (2010). Emotion‐focused couples therapy and the facilitation of forgiveness. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 36(1), 28-42. Link
Halchuk, R. E., Makinen, J. A., & Johnson, S. M. (2010). Resolving attachment injuries in couples using emotionally focused therapy: A three-year follow-up. Journal of couple & relationship therapy, 9(1), 31-47. Link
Johnson, S. M. (2012). The practice of emotionally focused couple therapy: Creating connection. Routledge.
Johnson, S. M., & Greenman, P. S. (2006). The path to a secure bond: Emotionally focused couple therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(5), 597-609. Link
Jones, G. W. (1997). Modernization and divorce: Contrasting trends in Islamic Southeast Asia and the West. Population and Development Review, 95-114. Link
Kelly, S., Bhagwat, R., Maynigo, P., & Moses, E. (2014). Couple and marital therapy: The complement and expansion provided by multicultural approaches. In F. T. L. Leong, L. Comas-Díaz, G. C. Nagayama Hall, V. C. McLoyd, & J. E. Trimble (Eds.), APA handbooks in psychology®. APA handbook of multicultural psychology, Vol. 2. Applications and training (pp. 479-497). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. Link
Laur, R. H., & Laur, J. C. (2007). Marriage & Family: The Quest for Intimacy, New York: MCGROW MILL.
Li, T., & Fung, H. H. (2011). The dynamic goal theory of marital satisfaction. Review of General Psychology, 15(3), 246-254. Link
Olson, H. Defrain, J. (2006). Marriages and Families (Intimacy, Diversity and Strenghts).[4th Ed]. Kenethking, New York.
Palmer‐Olsen, L., Gold, L. L., & Woolley, S. R. (2011). Supervising emotionally focused therapists: A systematic research‐based model. Journal of marital and family therapy, 37(4), 411-426. Link
Vazhappilly, J. J., & Reyes, M. E. S. (2018). Efficacy of emotion-focused couples communication program for enhancing couples’ communication and marital satisfaction among distressed partners. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 48(2), 79-88. Link
Wiebe, S. A., & Johnson, S. M. (2016). A review of the research in emotionally focused therapy for couples. Family Process, 55(3), 390-407. Link
Wiebe, S. A., Johnson, S. M., Burgess Moser, M., Dalgleish, T. L., & Tasca, G. A. (2017). Predicting Follow‐up Outcomes in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: The Role of Change in Trust, Relationship‐Specific Attachment, and Emotional Engagement. Journal of marital and family therapy, 43(2), 213-226. Link
Willoughby, B. J. (2010). Marital attitude trajectories across adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(11), 1305-1317. Link
References (in Persian)
Arab, S. M., Ebrahimzadeh Pezeshki, R., & Morovati Sharifabadi, A. (2015). Designing a meta-synthesis model of factors affecting divorce by systematic review of previous studies. Iranian Journal of Epidemiology, 10(4), 10-22. Link
Arjmand, S. E., & Piramoun, N. (2014). A pathological study on the emotional divorce of women (20-39) and its effects on their children. Sociological Studies of Youth, 5(14): 9-22. Link
Arsalandeh, F., Habibi, M., & Shakarami, M. (2018). Effectiveness of Inducing Positive Affect on Improvement Autobiographical Memory in Depressive Patients. Zanko Journal of Medical Sciences, 18(59), 68-79. Link
Azimi Rousta, M., & Abedzadeh Noberian, M. (2013). Investigating the factors affecting emotional divorce among couples in the family. Iranian Journal of Sociological Studies, 3(10): 46-31. Link
Bastani, S., Golzari, M., & Rowshani, S. H. (2011). Emotional divorce and strategies to face it. Family Research, 7(2): 241-57. Link
Cheraghi, M., Mazaheri, M. A., Mootabi, F., Panaghi, L., & Sadeghi, M. S. (2015). The Relationship with In-laws Comparison in two Groups of Satisfied and Dissatisfied People of that Relationship. Family Research, 10(40): 451-74. Link
Cheraghi, M., Mazaheri, M. A., Mootabi, F., Panaghi, L., Sadeghi, M. S., & Salmani, K. (2017). Family triad systemic scale: An instrument for assessment of relationships between couple and families of origin. Journal of Family Research, 13(3), 343-360. Link
Fouji, A., Naderi, F. (2016). Relationship of social skills and religious beliefs with emotional divorce on client women referring to Ahvaz psychological consultant centers. Scientific Research Quarterly of Woman and Culture, 8(27), 23-36. Link
Fouladi, A., Shahnematigavgani, N. (2015). The affective factors on divorce; In East Azarbaijan province, Tabriz City. Sociological Cultural Studies, 6(2), 93-109. Link
Hoseini, F., & Rezapour, M. (2015). The Study of Effective Factors in Increasing Divorce Rate (Case Study: Divorced Couples of Sarpolezahab Town). Quarterly Journal of Social Work, 4(2), 33-41. Link
Javidi, N. (2013). The effectiveness of emotion-focused couple therapy (EFCT) in improving marital satisfaction and family behavior control. Applied Counseling, 3(2): 65-78. Link
Kalantari, A., Roshanfekr, P., Javaheri, J. (2011). Three Decades of Researches about “Divorce Causes” in Iran: A Review. Women's Strategic Studies, 14(53): 129-162. Link
Parvin, S., Davoodi, M., & Mohamadi, F. (2012). Sociological Factors Influencing Emotional Divorce in Tehran. Women's Strategic Studies, 14(56): 119-153. Link
Salimi, H., Javdan, M., Zarei, E., & Najarpourian, S. (2019). The health of marital relationship in the light of factors affecting the stability and satisfaction of the relationship: A systematic review. J Educ Community Health, 6(3): 183-192. Link
Sanayi Zaker, B. (1990). The role of origin families in child marriage. Counseling Research, 1(1-2): 21-46. Link
Shabani, R. (2015). Foundations of social history of Iran. Tehran: Qomes Publishing.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 30 October 2019
  • Revise Date: 22 February 2020
  • Accept Date: 23 February 2020

Share

How to cite

Statistics