Comparing the Effectiveness of Group-Based Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) and Practical Training of Intimate Communication Skills (PAIRS) on Marital Adjustment and Couples' Communication Patterns

The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing emotional-focused couple therapy in group mode (EFCT) and practical training of intimate communication skills (PAIRS) in marital compatibility and communication patterns of couples.

This research was applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of design, it was semi-experimental and in the form of a pre-test-post-test design with one control group and two experimental groups. The statistical population of this research is all couples who have referred to one of the counseling centers in Mashhad in 2019 to solve marital problems. The sample of the research was 24 pairs of volunteers who were randomly assigned to three groups; Two experimental groups and one control group (8 couples in each group) were replaced. In fact, the experimental groups each belonged to one of the methods of couple therapy (emotion-oriented - Perez's intimate communication skills). The content of the sessions was prepared according to Perez's principles of emotional therapy and sincere communication skills and was implemented in experimental groups during 9 sessions (one session per week). The data collection tools were Spiner's Marital Adjustment Questionnaire (DAS) and Couple Communication Patterns Questionnaire (CPQ), which were completed by both groups before and immediately after the intervention. The data was analyzed using analysis of covariance test.

The findings of the research show that emotion-oriented couple therapy and intimate communication skills training are effective in improving couples' relationships and increasing their compatibility.

Among the two treatment approaches, communication skill training in the Perez method on couples' communication patterns and emotion-oriented couple therapy approach have been more effective on marital adjustment (P≤0.05).