A New Model of Mindfulness-Based Couple Therapy for Improving the Sense of Coherence and Marital Satisfaction in Caregivers and Patients with Prostate Cancer

Cancer not only affects the patient's life but also changes the function of the family, especially the spouse as a caregiver. The aim of this article is to determine the effectiveness of couple therapy based on mindfulness for improving the sense of coherence and marital satisfaction in caregivers of patients suffering from prostate cancer. The method of this study was quasi-experimental within the framework of a pretest, posttest, follow-up (PPF) design. In this study, 63 couples of cancer patients and their caregiver from the Shohada Tajrish Hospital volunteered to participate in the study. The six session protocol was conducted. In this research, Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence Scale and Enrich marital satisfaction questionnaire were used. Findings showed that couple therapy based on mindfulness significantly improved the sense of cohesion and increased marital satisfaction in women who care for their husbands. According to the results of the study, it can be argued that interventions concentrate on unmet needs of caregivers can enable them to carry on.