Comparison of the effectiveness of eclectic and integrated behavioral couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment schema on marital satisfaction of women with multiple

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. marital satisfaction is an important indicator in the favorable prognosis of treatment in progressive neuropsychological disorders.The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two approaches of coupleeclectic behavioral therapy and combined treatment of schema based on acceptance and commitment on marital satisfaction in women with multiple sclerosis.

In a randomized pilot trial, During late 2019 and early 2020, 42 female patients with multiple sclerosis with their husbands were selected using purposive sampling method and using block randomization method in the form of two A treatment group and a control group were assigned. The two treatment groups underwent one of the eclectic and integrated behavioral couple therapy treatments based on acceptance and commitment for 10 sessions of 90 minutes once a week, and the control group was placed on a waiting list. Enrich Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (1998) was completed by participants in three time periods: pre-test, post-test and follow-up. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and repeated measures.

Preliminary results showed that both treatments had a significant effect on patients' marital satisfaction index compared to the control group, which remained stable until the quarterly follow-up stage (all p's <0.05). In addition, the secondary results showed that there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two treatments (p <0.05).

The findings of this study can be associated with clinical applications in planning the vision of therapeutic interventions in patients with neurodegenerative disorders.