Comparing the Efficacy of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy in Reducing Post-Traumatic Stress in Women Affected by Infidelity

Abstract

People affected by infidelity show symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. This study sought to compare the efficacy of emotion-oriented couple therapy (EFCT) and cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women affected by infidelity. This study was quasi-experimental, with a pre- and post-test design, and a control group. The statistical population included (n = 69) infidelity-affected women referred to the apple clinic in Mashhad during the first quarter of 2020. Using the available procedure, 45 infidelity-injured subjects were selected and distributed into three groups: CBCT, EFCT, and control (15 cases in each group). The Impact of Event Scale (IES) was administered to all three groups before, after, and two months after intervention. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS-20 statistical software and statistical techniques for analysis of variance of duplicate data. In comparison to the control group, the CBCT and EFCT demonstrated a significant reduction in PTSD scores. Cognitive couple therapy was more effective than emotion-focused couple therapy (P <0.05); Thus, both types of couple therapy can be used to ameliorate the condition of women affected by breach of contract. The CBCT was more effective at treating PTSD than EFCT.

Keywords

• couple therapy
• cognitive-behavioral
• emotion-oriented
• infidelity
• stress