Comparing Effectiveness of Short Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy on Couples with Alexithymia

This research aimed to compare the effectiveness of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy and emotion-focused couple therapy on couples with alexithymia, marital satisfaction, and difficulty in emotion regulation. The method of the present study is quasi-experimental including pretest- posttest with a control group and with 3 month follow-up pattern. The statistical population of this study is based on online invitations for volunteered couples living in strict 1,2,3 in Tehran, for which 60 teams among them were selected according to inclusion criteria. The instruments used included the Farsi version of The Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (FTAS-20), the Afrooz and Erich Marital Satisfaction Scale, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. The experimental groups got two different types of therapy once a week. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of the Covariance and Bonferroni tests. Results showed that both therapies were significant for research variables and they were consistent in 3-month follow-up. So both methods can help reduce symptoms of Alexithymia, marital dissatisfaction, and difficulties in emotion regulation.