Comparing the effectiveness of group counseling based on Gutman couple therapy and integrated behavioral couple therapy on marital quality, emotional abuse and frustration of women with addicted spouses in Tehran city

This study was designed and conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of group counseling based on Gutman couple therapy and integrated behavioral couple therapy on marital quality, emotional abuse and frustration of women with addicted husbands in Tehran.

The present study was an experimental method with a repeated measurement design mixed with a control group. The statistical population of the research consisted of all women with addicted husbands who referred to the welfare organization of Tehran city in 1401. The sample of this study was 45 women with addicted husbands who were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group based on the criteria for entering and exiting the study and based on the scores obtained in the questionnaire. Data collection tools were Busby Marital Relationship Quality Questionnaire, Brahimi Emotional Abuse Questionnaire, and Pines Marital Frustration Questionnaire, which were completed by subjects of all three groups in pre-test, post-test and one-month follow-up stages. To analyze the research data, analysis of variance with repeated measurements was used using SPSS 26 software.

The results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of both group counseling methods based on Gutman couple therapy and group counseling based on integrated behavioral theory in improving the quality of marital relationship and reducing emotional abuse and frustration in the post-test and one-month follow-up phase.

The findings indicated that the group counseling method based on Guttman's theory was more effective in emotional abuse and frustration than the integrated behavioral method. Also, group counseling based on integrated behavioral theory was more effective in marital quality than the group counseling method based on Guttman's theory.