Effectiveness of Couple Therapy based on Imago Relationship Therapy: Its Impact on Couple Burnout

The imago relationship approach is a theory on dating marriage and the process of marital conflicts treatment. Based on the main idea of this approach, choosing the spouse is done based on a mental image from ideal parents which has been formed in childhood, and compatibility with spouse is also reliant on this early image. The present study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of couple therapy based on imago relationship therapy on reducing couple burnout. 

The present research was a semi-empirical study, which used a pretest-posttest with control group design. The statistical population of the present study included all the couples with marital conflicts referring to Rastin counseling and psychological services center in Gorgan, Iran, during the second quarter of 2018. The sample included 20 couples who were selected by available sampling method and were assigned into two experiment and control groups (10 couples per group) through ransom assignment method. The assessment of the subjects was conducted in pretest and posttest stages by using Pines’ marital burnout scale (1996). Eight sessions of group couple therapy based on imago relationship therapy were held for the experiment group while the control group received no intervention.

The mean and standard deviation of the scores of couple burnout among the subjects of the experiment group in pretest and posttest stages equaled 81 ± 21.97 and 68.05 ± 15.66, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the scores of couple burnout in the subjects of the control group equaled 80.95 ± 16.79 and 82.50 ± 14.31 in pre- and post-intervention, respectively. Results of the covariance analysis suggested that couple burnout in the couples of the experiment group has significantly decreased after receiving the imago relationship therapy intervention.

Couple therapy based on imago relationship therapy enables the couples to understand one another, and experiencing this feeling can lead to increased happiness, intimacy, and empathy in couples and, therefore, reduce couple burnout.