The Effectiveness of Emotion-focused Cognitive Therapy in Decreasing Depression due to Marital Relationship Problems

Abstract

Marital distress and marital relationship problems are effective in generation and acceleration of depression. Depression is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease and affects people in all communities across the world. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of emotion-focused cognitive therapy in decreasing depression caused due to marital relationship problems. The design of this study was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and control group. The research population consisted of all couples referred to the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Clinic of Psychology. 10 couples with marital problems were selected by convenience sampling, and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received emotion-focused cognitive therapy while the control group received no treatment. The research measurement instruments consisted of BDI-II and CPQ. ANCOVA models were used to test the study hypothesis. The results showed that EFCT had been effective in decreasing depression due to marital relationship problems (P < 0.001). The results of our study not only demonstrated that the importance of cognition and emotion in marital relationship but also product useful information about effectiveness of EFCT on depression caused due to marital relationship problems for researchers, counselors and psychotherapists.

Effectiveness of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment in Reducing Depression Associated with Marital Problems

“…In line with the present study, Hashemi and Kimiaei found emotion-focused cognitive therapy to reduce the depression caused by marital problems and the patterns of mutual avoidance and demand/withdraw in the intervention group (35) and Mahlabani Gorgian et al found emotion-focused couple therapy to be eff ective in treating the depression caused by couples' communication prob-lems (36).…”

The Findings of a Cochrane Meta‐Analysis of Couple Therapy in Adult Depression: Implications for Research and Clinical Practice

“…Therefore, the findings cannot be applied to non‐Western countries and not even to ethnically diverse populations in Western countries. Actually, the search identified some Iranian studies, not included due to methodological shortcomings (e.g., Hashemi & Kimiaei, 2017). This means there is a need to provide evidence to inform practice also in low‐ and middle‐income countries.…”

Couple and family interventions for depressive and bipolar disorders: Evidence base update (2010–2019)

“…Control conditions in the studies on couple interventions for depression included treatment as usual ( n = 3; Adler et al, 2018; Seikkula et al, 2013; Wittenborn et al, 2019), waitlist ( n = 2; Cohen et al, 2010; Hashemi & Kimiaei, 2017), and medication management ( n = 1; Denton et al, 2012). One study (Adler et al, 2018) also included a non‐randomized community comparison group.…”

“…Two of six studies on couple interventions for depression (Cohen et al, 2010; Hashemi & Kimiaei, 2017) compared the experimental condition (i.e., Brief, Problem‐Focused Couple Therapy for Depression, Emotion‐Focused Cognitive Therapy) to a waitlist control condition. In both studies, on average, participants in the experimental condition reported significantly greater improvement in depressive symptoms compared to participants in the waitlist condition.…”