Effectivness of Cognitive- Behavioral Couple Therapy on Depression Reduction and Enhancing Emotional Regulation in Distressed Couples

Background and Objectivs: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive–behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) on depression reduction and enhancing emotional regulation in counseling seeking distressed couples in Ahwaz counseling centers. Subject and

Randomized Control Clinical Trials (RCT)، with pretest-posttest design، was used in this study. Through convenience sampling، 30 couples participated in this study were randomly assigned to two groups. The instruments employed in this research were Beck Depression Inventory and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation. Experimental group followed a twelve-session treatment. These sessions were held once a week. We used of MANOVA to analyze the data.

The results of MANOVA showed significant differences between the treatment and control groups (P<0. 001). Cognitive –behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) was effective on reduction of depression and enhancing emotional regulation in distressed couples.

The effectiveness of cognitive–behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) on depression reduction and enhancing emotional regulation in distressed couple was confirmed. It is recommended to use this method for distressed couples.