Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy in Positive Interaction and Intimacy of Couples in Tehran

Background: Family as the basic unit of society provides mental health support to its members. It is one of the main institutions of any community, as well as the focus of human emotions and intimate relationships among individuals Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy in positive interaction and intimacy of couples. Methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted based on a pre-test and post-test control group design with follow-up. The statistical population consisted of all couples referred to Avin psychology clinic in Tehran in 2019 (between May and August). Out of this population, 30 couples were selected via available sampling and randomly assigned to two groups of experimental (n=15) and control (n=15). The experimental group received emotion-focused therapy during 11 two-hour sessions (one session per week), while the control group did not receive any intervention during this period. Data were collected using the Communication Patterns Questionnaire and Marital Intimacy Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) using repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results demonstrated that emotion-focused therapy improved the positive interaction and intimacy of couples (P<0.05). Moreover, the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy persisted until follow-up. Conclusion: As evidenced by the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that emotion-focused therapy can effectively enhance positive interaction and intimacy in couples.