The effectiveness of integrated couple therapy training on commitment, intimacy, individual and interpersonal forgiveness in couples with marital boredom

Abstract

Marital boredom is one of the essential components in couples' relationships, the existence of which causes adverse effects on couples and families. In this regard, integrated couple therapy as an almost new approach solves their problems by addressing the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral contexts in couples' communication problems. Therefore, the present study aims to study the effectiveness of this approach on improving marital intimacy, marital commitment, and individual and interpersonal forgiveness of couples with marital boredom. Method: This quasi-experimental study is a pre-test-post-test with a control group. For this purpose, 20 teams referred to Ibn Sina Hospital's counseling center in Mashhad in 1399 were selected by available sampling method and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The Pines Marital Boredom Scale, the Marital Commitment Questionnaire of Rost Belt et al., The Sanai Marital Intimacy Questionnaire, the Individual Forgiveness Questionnaire of Ray et al., And the Ehteshamzadeh Interpersonal Forgiveness Questionnaire were used in both pre-test and post-test. The experimental group members participated in 8 sessions of 90-minute treatment, and the other group members (control group) did not receive any treatment. One-way analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that combined couple therapy training had improved the level of marital intimacy, marital commitment, and individual and interpersonal forgiveness. Therefore, the implemented interventions can help improve the situation of couples with marital boredom through cognitive, behavioral, and emotional reconstructions.