The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group couple therapy (ACT-G) using schema conceptualization on improving conflicting couple performance indicators

Aim and Background:

In describing objective reality, what harms the relationship are repetitive practical patterns in behavior. In fact, damage to a relationship is caused by the behavior that comes to us, not the thought or feeling that flows within us; therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of group couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment using schema conceptualization on improving the performance indicators of conflicting couples in Zahedan.

Materials and Methods

The research method was quasi-experimental. The statistical population of the study included all couples referring to counseling centers in Zahedan during December and December 2009. By selecting clusters of three centers and using purposive sampling available, 18 couples were selected and randomly divided into two groups. The intervention consisted of 10 2-hour sessions per week and the practical experience during treatment led to the formation of new conceptual models in the process of injury and treatment. Data were collected using a marriage performance questionnaire that was obtained from both control and experimental groups before and after the intervention. The research hypotheses were tested by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and SPSS software version 20.

The results showed that the developed group therapy protocol based on acceptance and commitment using schema conceptualization was significantly effective in improving the performance of couples in all subscales studied (P≤0.001).

It seems that group therapy based on acceptance and commitment using schematic conceptualization has an effect on couple performance. However, in order to increase the external credibility of the research, it is suggested that more research be done.