Examining the effectiveness of Dimand's Integrated Couple Therapy on Cohesion, Adaptability and Intimacy in Couples after the Birth of the First Child

The beginning of parenthood is a special stage in family life, because couples are looking for a new adaptation at this stage. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of integrative couple therapy via Diamond method on continuity, adaptability and emotional intimacy of the couples after the birth of the first child.

The present study was conducted as a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest and a control group, which was randomly selected by availability sampling (convenience sampling) and divided into two experimental and control groups. The statistical population consisted of 32 parents with a child under 5 years of age who referred to the Rasht Rehabilitation Counseling Center from November 2018 to May 2019, who were assigned to two experimental (16 people) and control (16 people) groups. The experimental group underwent integrative couple therapy using Diamond method in eight 90-minute sessions. The data were evaluated using Schaefer & Olson's intimacy questionnaire and Olson et al.'s adaptability and cohesion questionnaire. The data were analyzed using covariance analysis and via SPSS Statistics 22v.

Integrative couple therapy via Diamond method has had a significant effect on increasing continuity, adaptability and emotional intimacy of couples after the birth of their first child (P< 0/05).

As a result, it can be stated that the use of integrative couple therapy via Diamond is effective and efficient for couples who have problems in their marital relations after the birth of their first child.