The Effectiveness of Group Counselling based on Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) on Internalized Shame in Women Affected by Marital Infidelity (One-Month Follow Up)

Abstract

Introduction Marital infidelity is considered to be one of the most important traumatic factors for couples and families, and it is also a prevalent phenomenon for family and marital therapists. The present research was conducted by the aim of investigating the effectiveness of group compassion-focused counseling on internalized shame among women affected by marital infidelity. Materials and Methods The present study was a semi-experimental one that was conducted by pretest-posttest and follow-up with control group design. The research population included all the women affected by marital infidelity referring to counseling centers in Gorgan, Iran, in 2019. The research sample composed of 24 women who were selected by purposeful sampling method and were assigned into experiment and control groups by random assignment method (12 subjects per group). The data gathering tool was Cook’s Internalized Shame Scale (1993). Group compassion-focused therapy was provided in 13 120-minute sessions for the experiment group. The data were analyzed by variance analysis test with repeated measures. Results The results of variance analysis with repeated measures showed that group compassion-focused counseling led to a decrease in internalized shame in the subjects of the intervention group in the posttest and follow up stages. Moreover, the therapeutic intervention exerted a positive and significant effect on the components of internalized shame (shyness, self-esteem) (p < 0.01). Conclusion According to the confirmation of the effectiveness of the compassion-focused approach, family counselors and therapists can use this therapeutic model for reducing the traumas caused by marital infidelity.

Keywords

• extramarital relations
• shame
• women
• marriage