Comparison of Imago Couple Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Couple Therapy on Emotion Regulation Strategies in Couples Applying for Divorce

 Various psychological factors can be effective in how a person adapts to negative life experiences.  This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of imago and acceptance and commitment couple therapy on Emotion Regulation Strategies in Couples applying for a divorce.  The Research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest follow-up. The statistical population of the study was all couples who were referred to one of the counseling centers under the contract of the Armed Forces and the sample included 45 couples (15 couples in each group). They were randomly selected by convenience sampling with replacement. Couples participated in the study for 9 sessions. There was not any treatment for the control group. The research questionnaire was the emotion regulation questionnaire by Gross & John (2003). The participants filled out the questionnaire in three stages including the pre-test, the post-test, and the follow-up. Finally, an Analysis of variance was done by covariance analysis and repeated measures.  The results of the analysis of variance showed that the effect of acceptance and commitment couple therapy is significantly greater than that of imago couple therapy, in increasing emotion regulation strategies among couples applying for divorce (p<0.01).  The results of the current study can be used in clinical and therapeutic interventions to increase Cognitive Emotion Regulation, especially for couples on the Brink of Divorce.