Comparing the Effectiveness of Emotion- Focused Therapy and Imago Therapy on Couple Relationship in Zarand City

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Ahmad Hasanzadeh ¹
• Eshrat Karimi Afshar ²
• Fahime Dehghani ³

¹ Ph.D. Student in Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Yazd Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of General Psychology, Sirjan Islamic Azad University, Sirjan, Iran

³ Associate Professor. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

10.30495/jpmm.2024.32137.3815

Abstract

Bacround and Purpose: Marital intimacy is crucial for family health and preventing separation. The study aimed to compare emotion-focused therapy and imago therapy's effects on enhancing marital relationships.
Method: The research method was a semi-experimental pretest-posttest with a follow-up phase. The statistical population included all couples who approached counseling centers in the city of Zarand with marital problems in 1400-1401 years. 21 couples who were eligible to participate in the study were randomly divided into three groups, including two experimental groups (emotion-focused therapy and imago therapy) and one control group. The experimental groups participated in ten 90-minute sessions of couple therapy. Participants were given the Christensen and Sullaway Communication Patterns Questionnaire (CPQ). Multivariate analysis of covariance, univariate analysis of covariance, and Benferroni follow-up test were used to analyze the data.
Findings: Significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups, according to the results of the post-test and follow-up phases of tratment. The analysis showed that there is not significant differences between the influence of emotion-focused therapy and imago therapy on the couple's relationship.
Conclusion: Both emotion-focused therapy and imago therapy improve couple's relationship .

Keywords

• Improving Relationships
• Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy
• Imago Therapy

Main Subjects

• Psychological Models and Methods

---

References

1- Goldenberg H, Goldenberg I. Family therapy. Translated by: Hussain Shahi Browati H, Naqshbandi S, Arjmand E. Tehran: Rawan Publication; 2012. [In Persian].

2- Harway M. Handbook of couples therapy. Translated by Ahmadi Kh, Akhavi Z, Rahimi AA. Tehran: Danjeh Publications; 2012. [In Persian].

3- Hoveyda F, Khoshnoud  QA, Amin al-Sharia S, Chenarani H, Hatamipour Kh. The effect of cognitive couple therapy on the quality of life and social adaptation of Varamin city nurses and their spouses. Scientific Journal of Social Psychology, 2015; 4(40): 47-85. [In Persian].

4- Moran P, Romaniuk H, Coffey C, Chanen A, Degenhardt L, Borschmann R, Patton GC. The influence of personality disorder on the future mental health and social adjustment of young adults: a population-based, longitudinal cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2016 Jul;3(7):636-45. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30029-3. Epub 2016 Jun 21. PMID: 27342692

5- Pollak KM, Olderbak SG, Randall AK, Lau KKH, Duran ND. Comparing self-reported emotions and facial expressions of joy in heterosexual romantic couples. Pers Individ Dif. 2022;184(111182). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111182

6- Brandão T, Matias M, Ferreira T, Vieira J, Schulz MS, Matos PM. Attachment, emotion regulation, and well‐being in couples: Intrapersonal and interpersonal associations. J Pers. 2020;88(4):748–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12523

7- Frye N, Ganong L, Jensen T, Coleman M. A dyadic analysis of emotion regulation as a moderator of associations between marital conflict and marital satisfaction among first-married and remarried couples. J Fam Issues . 2020;41(12):2328–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0192513x20935504

8- Babaei Gharmkhani M, Rasouli M, Davarniya R. The effect of emotionally-focused couples therapy (EFCT) on reducing marital stress of married‌ couples. Zanko J Med Sci 2017; 18 (56) :56-69. [In Persian].

9- Najafi M, Soleimani A, Ahmadi K, Javidi N, Hoseni E, Pirjavid F. The study of the effectiveness of couple emotionally focused therapy (EFT) on increasing marital adjustment and improving the physical and psychological health of the infertile couples. The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility, 2015; 17(133): 8-21. doi: 10.22038/ijogi.2015.3703. [In Persian].

10- Dehfereshteh A, Habibi M, Salimi A, Shakarami M , Davarnia R. Effectiveness of emotionally focused couples therapy) on improvingquality of marital relationships and increasing intimacy of couples. Zanko Journal of Medical Sciences. 2018;18(59):68-79. [In Persian].

11- Zanganeh-Motlag, F, Bani-Jamali S, Ahadi H, Hatami H. The effectiveness of couples therapy based on acceptance and commitment and emotionally focused couples therapy on improvement of intimacy and reduction of Alexithymia among couples. Thoughts and Behavior in Clinical Psychology, 2017; 12(44): 47-56. [In Persian].

12- Javidi N. The effectiveness of emotion-focused couples therapy (EFCT) in improving marital satisfaction and family behavior control. Biannual Journal of Applied Counseling, 2014; 3(2): 65-78. [In Persian].

13- Jalali N, Heidari H, Davoudi H, Aleyasin S A. The Comparison of the effectiveness of emotion focused therapy and gottman's relationship enrichment on woman's communication patterns. RBS 2019; 17 (2) :265-279. [In Persian].

14- Carson DK, Casado-Kehoe M. Case studies in couples therapy: Theory-based approaches. London, England: Routledge; 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203851562

15- Harvill H. The Love You Want: A Practical Guide for Couples. Translated by: Rahmani H, Nazari M. Tehran: Nesle Aftab Publications; 2015.

16- Agathagelou AM. Individual psychodynamic development : Imago relationship approach in organizational context [Ph.D dissertion in Psychology]. University of South Africa; 2013.

17- Martin TL, Bielawski DM. What is the African American’s experience following Imago education? J Humanist Psychol. 2011;51(2):216–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022167809352379

18- Muro L, Holliman R, Luquet W. Imago relationship therapy and accurate empathy development. J Couple Relatsh Ther. 2016;15(3):232–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2015.1024373

19- Schmidt CD, Luquet W, Gehlert NC. Evaluating the impact of the “getting the love you want” couples workshop on relational satisfaction and communication patterns. J Couple Relatsh Ther. 2016;15(1):1–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2014.978061

20- Hariri P, Etemadi O, Abedi A. The effect of imago relationship therapy for couples on marital stability in veteran couples. RBS 2019; 17 (2) :182-192. [In Persian].

21- Cheraey, L, Goudarzi, M, Akbary, M. Comparing the effectiveness of couple therapy with imago-therapy and feldman's integrated approach on intimacy commitment of conflicting spouses. Quarterly Journal of Woman and Society, 2019; 10(39): 239-254.

22- Honarparvaran N, Heidari KH. Comparison the effectiveness of imago therapy and satier couple therapy on life stability in conflicting couples. Psychological Methods and Models, 2019; 10(37): 191-206. [In Persian].

23- Sheydanfar N, Navabinejad S, Farzad V. (2020). Comparison of the effectiveness of treatment of focused emotional couples and imago couples therapy on individual adjustment in couples (in the first years). Journal of Psychological Science. 19(89), 593-606. [In Persian].

24- Christensen A, Sullaway M. Communications patterns Questionnaire. Unpublished questionnaire. Los Angeles; 1984.