Comparing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Rational Emotional BehaviorTherapy Effectiveness on Couples' Avoidance, Marital Satisfaction, Communication Skills, and Sexual Self-Efficacy

 This research aims to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and rational emotional behavior therapy on avoidance, marital satisfaction, communication skills, and sexual self-efficacy of couples.

 This semi-experimental study was conducted among couples who were referred to counseling and psychological service centers in Tehran in 2018 among which 45 people were selected by the available sampling method from four counseling centers who met the criteria of the research. They were randomly divided into three experimental groups including acceptance and commitment therapy, rational emotional therapy, and control groups, in each group 15 people participated. First, all three groups were pretested, then one experimental group underwent acceptance and commitment treatment and the other experimental group underwent emotional rational therapy and the control group did not receive any treatment. After the sessions, a post-test was taken from all three groups. After one month, follow-up measurements were performed again in all three groups. Data were processed using SPSS-25 software to calculate descriptive indices and multivariate covariance analysis.

 A significant difference was observed between the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and rational emotional therapy in reducing avoidance and increasing marital satisfaction, sexual self-efficacy, and communication skills of couples (p<0.001). The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy in reducing avoidance and increasing marital satisfaction and sexual self-efficacy was higher than rational emotional therapy. But in increasing the communication skills of couples, rational emotional therapy was more effective than acceptance and commitment therapy. In the follow-up phase, no significant difference was observed between the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy with rational-emotional therapy on marital satisfaction, communication skills, and sexual self-efficacy. However, acceptance and commitment therapy was more effective than rational-emotional therapy in reducing couple anxiety.

 Based on the findings, it can be concluded that acceptance and commitment therapy is more effective in reducing avoidance and increasing marital satisfaction and sexual self-efficacy than rational emotional therapy, but rational emotional therapy is more effective in increasing communication skills. It is suggested that acceptance and commitment therapy and rational emotional behavioral therapy be used by experts in this field in order to improve marital relations in counseling and therapy centers.