The Interactional Effect of Gender with Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy on Marital Burnout in Counseling Centers of Tehran

Background and Objective: Marital burnout is a gradual reduction of affection to the spouse, which is associated with alienation, unwillingness and indifference of couples to each other and the replacement of negative emotions rather than positive emotions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interactional effects of gender with Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) on couple burnout in counseling centers of Tehran. Materials and Methods: This study was semi-experimental with pre-Test, Post-Test, Follow-up design and control group. The study population included all couples who were referred to counseling centers due to marital conflicts. Among the study population, 30 couples who had a standard deviation above the average of burnout questionnaire, were selected purposeful sampling method, and randomly divided into two groups of experimnental and contorl. The experimental group received 10 sessions EFCT once a week. Data were collected via Marital Burnout Measurment. Covariance and Repeated measures analysis were used for data analysis in SPSS-22. Results: The mean (SD) age of the experimental group was 32.4 (3.2) and 34.2 (4.1) years for the control group. EFCT reduced the marital burnout and its components, as the mean somatic burnout score in the experimental group vireid form 31.6 (4.1) to 25 (3.3), P<0.001; emotional burnout from 35 (4.8) to 26.3 (3.8), P<0.001; and psychological burnout from 33.4 (4.8) to 31.4 (5.2), P<0.001; and marital burnout from 100 (9.1) to 76.8 (8.1), P<0.001. There was no significant effect of gender on marital burnout in both groups. Conclusion: The study showed that the emotionally focused couple therapy was effective in decreasing marital burnout; however, gender showed no significant interactive effect on emotionally focused couple therapy. DOI: http://doi.org/10.22037/ch.v5i4.1933

Comparison of the effectiveness of schema therapy and its integration with the exposure and response prevention technique in treating distress tolerance of women with washing compulsions

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic mental disorder that requires different treatments due to its complex nature. Schema therapy (ST) and exposure and response prevention (ERP) are two treatments that have been studied in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and previous studies have shown them to be effective. However, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of integrating these two methods in comparison with other methods. Aims: The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the ST and the integration of schema therapy with the exposure and response prevention technique (STERP) in treating distress tolerance in women with washing compulsions. Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a 2-month follow-up. The statistical population included all women with obsessive-compulsive disorder referred to counseling centers in the north and center of Tehran from the beginning of November to the end of February 2020. Forty-five people were selected by a convenience method based on inclusion criteria. The first intervention group (ST) received 12 sessions, and the second intervention group (STERP) received 14 sessions. The research instrument included the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) (Simmons & Gaher, 2005). Data were analyzed by mixed-design analysis of variance and Bonferroni test in SPSS-23 software. Results: The results showed that ST and STERP interventions increased distress tolerance in women with washing compulsions at the end of interventions and follow-up period (P<0.0001), but STERP was more effective in treating distress tolerance compared to the ST. Conclusion: The results showed that using exposure and response prevention methods integrated with schema therapy for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder allows the them to analyze different dimensions of anxiety-inducing stimuli and provides a more appropriate answer to it