Effects of Emotionally Focused Therapy on Sexual Assertiveness, Marital Forgiveness, and Marital Harmony in Maladjusted Couples

Background: Marital maladjustment can cause undeniable consequences for their health and relationship. The present study aimed to determination the effect of emotionally-focused couple therapy on sexual assertiveness, marital forgiveness, and marital harmony in maladjusted couples. Methods: This was an experimental study based on a pretest-posttest design with control and experimental groups. The statistical population consisted of all maladjusted couples visiting the counseling centers of Behbahan (Iran) in 2020, of whom 30 couples were selected as the sample through convenience sampling and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (15 couples in each group). Those in the experimental group participated in eight 120-minute sessions of Greenberg’s emotionally focused therapy (EFT). The research instruments included the Sexual Assertiveness Questionnaire, Trait Forgiveness Scale (TFS), and Marital Harmony Scale. The data were statistically analyzed using the one-way and multivariate analyses of variance. Data analysis was performed in SPSS-25. Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of sexual assertiveness, marital forgiveness, and marital harmony (P<0.001). In fact, EFT significantly increased sexual assertiveness, marital forgiveness, and marital harmony of couples in the experimental group. Conclusion: The study findings suggested the positive effects of EFT on sexual assertiveness, marital forgiveness, and marital harmony of maladjusted couples. Therefore, the EFT can be recommended as an effective intervention to improve sexual assertiveness, marital forgiveness, and marital harmony in couples with marital conflict.