The Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Group Counseling in Enhancing Marital Intimacy of Married Women

The aim of present study was to determine the effectiveness of solution-focused group counseling on increasing marital intimacy of married women. The research design was quasi-experimental (pretest-posttest with a control group). For this purpose, 24 participants selected from married female teachers, who are employed in Educational Department (District 3) in Qom province (Iran). By using convenience sampling, the researcher selected themout of four districts of this province. Then they were randomly assigned into two groups of experimental (12 member) and control group (12 member). All participants filled Bagarozi Couple Intimacy Questionnaire before and after the intervention. The group received therapeutic solution- focused approach for eight sessions (90 minutes per session) weekly; and control group did not receive any intervention. Data analyzed using analysis of covariance. The results suggested that the effectiveness of solution-focused approach in improvement of overall marital intimacy and in intimacy dimensions, including emotional, psychological and sexual intimacy and recreational, was no significant difference in other dimensions of marital intimacy among experimental and control group. Solution-focused approach may be used as an efficient technique for improvement of general intimacy and its components including emotional, psychological, recreational.