The Impact of Group-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Trust in Interpersonal Relationships and Emotion Control among Married Women

Acceptance and commitment therapy is a third-generation behavioral therapy that seeks to enhance a person's psychological connection to his / her thoughts and feelings rather than to change cognitions. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of acceptance and commitment therapy on trust in interpersonal relationships and emotion control among married women. In a quasi-experimental intervention with pre-test, post-test and follow-up, 24 married women were selected through the available sampling method from among women with marital problems, who had referred to Kermanshah Relief Committee Counseling Center. They were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (n ₌ 12). The research instruments were the Trust in Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire and the Emotion Control Questionnaire. The experimental group received group-based acceptance and commitment therapy for ten sessions, but the control group received no treatment. After the end of treatment sessions, both groups took the post-test. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. According to the findings, group-based acceptance and commitment therapy was effective on trust in interpersonal relationships (P < 0.05) and emotion control (P < 0.05). The follow-up results after one month also indicated that there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups in trust in interpersonal relationships and emotion control (P < 0.05). Based on the results, it can be concluded that acceptance and commitment therapy positively affects trust in interpersonal relationships and emotion control.