Effectiveness of Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy on Marital Violence, Marital Adjustment, and Sexual Intimacy of Couples Visiting Counseling Centers of Ahvaz

The degree of marital intimacy is essential to robust marital relationships in family. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of emotionally-focused couple’s therapy (EFCT) on marital violence, marital adjustment, and sexual intimacy of couples visiting counseling centers of Ahvaz.

This study adopted a single-case research design with the noncurrent multiple baseline approach. The statistical population included all the volunteer couples with marital maladjustment visiting the counseling centers of Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province (Iran) in 2021. Purposive sampling was employed to select two couples (i.e., four individuals). The intervention program was administered to all the participants in two phases (18 intervention sessions) and four stages (baseline, intervention, a 45-day first follow-up, and a 3-month second follow-up). Research questionnaires were employed to analyze the participants before the therapy in sessions 4, 8, 12, 16, and 18 as well as the 45-day and 3-month follow-ups. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), Couples' Sexual Intimacy Questionnaire and the Violence Against Women Questionnaire were used to collect data. The visual analysis method, the reliable change index (RCI), and the recovery percentage formula were used for data analysis.

According to the results, the EFCT managed to significantly improve sexual intimacy, mitigate marital violence, and improve poor marital adjustment among participants at the end of the therapy and during the 45-day and 3-month follow-ups.

This study achieved promising results concerning the applicability of EFCT. Hence, the EFCT can alleviate both marital violence and poor marital adjustment in addition to enhancing sexual intimacy among couples.