Comparing the Effectiveness of Gottman's Couple Therapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy on Couples' Marital Intimacy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. student, Department of Psychology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Psychology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran (Associate Professor, Department of Counselling, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran). Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, IranUniversity of Guilan, Rasht, Iran)

Abstract

Background: A person's satisfaction with marital life is regarded as his/her satisfaction with the family, and family satisfaction means life satisfaction which consequently facilitates the growth and spiritual progress of the society.
 
Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Gottman's model and emotion-focused therapy on couples' marital intimacy.
 
Method: This quasi-experimental research was conducted based on a pre-test, post-test control group design with follow-up. The statistical population of the study included the couples who were referred to clinics in the west of Tehran in 2020. A number of 24 couples were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups: two intervention groups (Gottman couple therapy and emotional therapy) and a control group (n=8 in each group). The experimental groups underwent 10 90-min sessions of Gottman's couple therapy and emotion-focused therapy, while the control group stayed on the waiting list. Data were collected based on the Intimacy Needs Questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS software using repeated measures analysis of variance.
 
Results: The results demonstrated that Gottman's model and emotion-focused therapy exerted an effect on couples' marital intimacy and there was no significant difference between the two treatments in terms of effectiveness (P<0.01).
 
Conclusion: As evidenced by the results of this study, it can be concluded that Gottman's model method and emotion-focused therapy are both effective in the enhancement of couples' marital intimacy and can be used as therapeutic or educational methods in couple therapy programs.

Keywords

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References

1. Lee M, Kim YS, Lee MK. The Mediating Effect of Marital Intimacy on the Relationship between Spouse-Related Stress and Prenatal Depression in Pregnant Couples: An Actor-Partner Interdependent Model Test. International journal of environmental research and publichealth.2021;18(2):487. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020487
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020487
PMid:33435308 PMCid:PMC7827389
 
2. Kamali Z, Allahyar N, Ostovar S, Alhabshi SM, Griffiths MD. Factors that influence marital intimacy: A qualitative analysis of iranian married couples. Cogent Psychology.2020;7(1):1771118. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2020.1771118
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2020.1771118
 
3. Pasha H, Basirat Z, Esmailzadeh S, Faramarzi M, Adibrad H. Marital intimacy and predictive factors among infertile women in northern Iran. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR. 2017;11(5): 13-21. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/24972.9935
https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/24972.9935
PMid:28658854 PMCid:PMC5483756
 
4. Choi H, Marks NF. Marital conflict, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2008;70(2):377-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00488.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00488.x
PMid:18698378 PMCid:PMC2507765
 
5. Fatemi M, Karbalaei A, Kakavand A. The effect of imago therapy on marital intimacy among couples. Knowledge & Research in Applied Psychology. 2017;17(1):51-9.
 
6. Kim M, Kim HS. Mediator effect of marital intimacy on the relationship between depression and marital satisfaction of infertile women. Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing. 2018;32(1):96-108.
 
7. Mohammadi M, Zahrakar K, Jahangiri J, Davarniya R, Shakarami M, Morshedi M. Assessing the efficiency of educational intervention based on Gottman's model on marital intimacy of women. Journal of Health. 2017 Apr 10;8(1):74-84.
 
8. Ariapooran S, Raziani S. Sexual satisfaction, marital intimacy, and depression in married Iranian nurses with and without symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. Psychologicalreports.2019;122(3):809-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118776927
https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118776927
PMid:29771198
 
9. Abusaidi E, Zahrakar K, Mohsenzadeh F. Effectiveness of solution-focused brief couple therapy in improvement of communication patterns and marital intimacy in women. Journal of Research and Health. 2018;8(6):555-64. https://doi.org/10.29252/jrh.8.6.555
https://doi.org/10.29252/jrh.8.6.555
 
10. Heidari A, Heidari H, Davoudi H. Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy on the physical and psychological marital intimacy of women. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Researches.2017;3(3):163. https://doi.org/10.4103/jepr.jepr_62_16
https://doi.org/10.4103/jepr.jepr_62_16
 
11. Ghasemi F, Nia KA, Amiri H. Effect of emotion-oriented couple therapy and cognitive-behavioral couple therapy on marital burnout. A comparative study. Arch Pharm Pract. 2020;1:104.
 
12. Golmohmmadian M. The effectiveness of emotion-oriented couple therapy on forgiveness and communication beliefs of couples involved in marital infidelity. Journal of psychologicalscience. 2021:635-47.
 
13. Johnson SM. The contribution of emotionally focused couples therapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. 2007;37(1):47-52..https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-006-9034-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-006-9034-9
 
14. Goudarzi A, Keykhosrovani M, Deyreh E, Ganji K. The Effectiveness of Emotion-Oriented Treatment on Cognitive Flexibility and Social Commitment in Divorced Couples. Razi Journal of Medical Sciences. 2020 Nov 10;27(9):10-29.
 
15. Ho MY, Liang S. Emotion‐oriented coping and parental competency: An evidence‐based parenting intervention for parents of children with special educational needs. Child & Family Social Work. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12834
https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12834
 
16. Rathgeber M, Bürkner PC, Schiller EM, Holling H. The efficacy of emotionally focused couples therapy and behavioral couples therapy: A meta‐analysis. Journal of marital and family therapy. 2019;45(3):447-63. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12336
https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12336
PMid:29781200
 
17. Abdollahi D, MohsenZadeh F, Shamir AS. Comparison of the effectiveness of Gottman's cognitive-systemic couple therapy and McMaster's model on marital justice of conflicting couples. Islamic Life Journal. 2020 Nov 10;4(4):21-34.
 
18. Habibalahzadeh H, Shafiabady A, Ghamari M. A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Self-Regulated Couple Therapy on Reducing Emotional Divorce in Couples. Women Studies. 2020;11(31):43-63.
 
19. Abdollahi D, MohsenZadeh F, Shamir AS. Comparison of the effectiveness of Gottman's cognitive-systemic couple therapy and McMaster's model on marital justice of conflicting couples. Islamic Life Journal. 2020;4(4):12-18.
 
20. Wersebe H, Lieb R, Meyer AH, Hofer P, Gloster AT. The link between stress, well-being, and psychological flexibility during an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy self-help intervention. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. 2018;18(1):60-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.09.002
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.09.002
PMid:30487911 PMCid:PMC6220909
 
21. Pasha H, Basirat Z, Esmailzadeh S, Faramarzi M, Adibrad H. Marital intimacy and predictive factors among infertile women in northern Iran. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR. 2017 May;11(5):QC13.
https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/24972.9935
PMid:28658854 PMCid:PMC5483756
 
22. Etemadi O, Navvabi Nezhad S, Ahmadi S, Farzad V. A study on the effectiveness of cognitivebehaviour couple therapy on couple's intimacy that refers to counselling centres in Esfahn. Psychological Studies. 2006;2(1):69-87.
 
23. Khamse A, Hoseyniyan S. Gender differences between intimacy dimensions of married college students. Women's Studies Sociological and Psychological. 2008 Mar 20;6(1):35-52.
 
24. Beasley CC, Ager R. Emotionally focused couples therapy: a systematic review of its effectiveness over the past 19 years. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work. 2019;16(2):144-59.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23761407.2018.1563013
PMid:30605013
 
25. Gottman J, Gottman J. The natural principles of love. Journal of Family Theory & Review. 2017;9(1):7-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12182
https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12182
 
26. Shirdel M, Hosseinian S, Kimiaei SA, Safarian MR. Estimating the Validity and Reliability of Gottman Questionnaires of "Couple Trust Measurement". Contemporary Family Therapy. 2019;41(1):37-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-018-9470-1
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-018-9470-1
 
27. Vazhappilly JJ, Reyes ME. Efficacy of emotion-focused couples communication program for enhancing couples' communication and marital satisfaction among distressed partners. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy.2018Jun;48(2):79-88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-017-9375-6
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-017-9375-6
 
28. Shameli L, Mehrabizadeh Honarmand M, Naa'mi A, Davodi I. The Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy on Emotion Regulation Styles and Severity of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Women with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2019;24(4):356-69. https://doi.org/10.32598/ijpcp.24.4.456
https://doi.org/10.32598/ijpcp.24.4.456
 
29. Timulak L, McElvaney J, Keogh D, Martin E, Clare P, Chepukova E, Greenberg LS. Emotion-focused therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: An exploratory study.Psychotherapy.2017;54(4):361. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000128
https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000128
PMid:29251955
 
30. Greenberg LS. Emotion-focused therapy of depression.Person-Centered&Experiential Psychotherapies.2017;16(2):106-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2017.1330702
https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2017.1330702
 
31. Elliott R, Shahar B. Emotion-focused therapy for social anxiety (EFT-SA). Person-Centered & ExperientialPsychotherapies.2017;16(2):140-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2017.1330701
https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2017.1330701

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics