Comparing the effectiveness of existential psychotherapy with acceptance and commitment-based therapy on fear of intimacy and sexual self-disclosure in women with marital conflicts
Subject Areas : Psychology
zahra dehmani
1
,
Aliasghar Asgharnezad Farid
2
*
,
reza golpoor
3
1 - Ph.D Student of General Psychology, Department of Psychology, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Existential psychotherapy, therapy based on acceptance and commitment, fear of intimacy, sexual self-disclosure, marital conflicts,
Abstract :
This research was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of existential psychotherapy with therapy based on acceptance and commitment on fear of intimacy and sexual self-expression in women with marital conflicts. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with experimental and control groups and a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population included all women with marital conflicts who referred to Parham Counseling and Psychotherapy Service Center in Tehran in 2022-2023, 45 people were randomly selected by the available sampling method and divided into two experimental and one experimental groups. The control group (15 people in each group) was appointed. Data collection was done using fear of intimacy questionnaire (Descanter & Thelen, 1991) and sexual self-expression (Snell et al., 1989). The experimental groups received the treatment in 8 sessions of 90 minutes once a week, and the control group was waiting for the treatment. The data were analyzed using ANOVA with repeated measures. The results showed that both therapeutic interventions were effective in reducing the fear of intimacy and increasing the sexual self-expression of the test group subjects (P<0.05). The results of Benferroni's post hoc test also showed that the effectiveness of the two treatments on fear of intimacy was the same (P<0.05), but in the variable of sexual self-expression, the effect of the acceptance and commitment treatment was greater than the existential treatment. Based on the findings of the research, it can be concluded that existential therapy and therapy based on acceptance and commitment are effective on fear of intimacy and sexual self-expression, which is more effective in therapy based on acceptance and commitment on improving sexual self-expression.
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