Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Couple Therapy on Cognitive Fusion and Dysfunctional Attitudes in Couples with Emotional Divorce Conditions

Couples with emotional divorce have problems in the field of cognitive fusion and dysfunctional attitudes. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based couple therapy on cognitive fusion and dysfunctional attitudes in couples with emotional divorce conditions.

The study was quasi-experimental, involving a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design with a control group. It focused on couples with emotional divorce in Rasht city in 2023. Twenty couples were selected using purposeful sampling and assigned to two equal groups. The experimental group received nine sessions of mindfulness-based couple therapy, while the control group remained on a waiting list. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using statistical tests in SPSS23 software.

The findings showed that the experimental and control groups were not significantly different in terms of education, age and duration of marriage (P>0.05). Also, mindfulness-based couple therapy significantly reduced cognitive fusion and dysfunctional attitudes in couples with emotional divorce conditions, and this result was also maintained in the follow-up phase (P<0.001).

Considering the effectiveness of mindfulness-based couple therapy on cognitive fusion and dysfunctional attitudes in couples with emotional divorce conditions, counsellors and therapists can use mindfulness-based couple therapy along with other effective treatment methods to improve the psychological characteristics of couples with emotional divorce.