Onm-9: The Effect of Integrated Couple Therapy and Group Therapy with Cognitive-Behavioral Approach on Increasing Sexual Self-Concept and Accelerating Fertility

Background: Women and men who have infertility problems, are faced with numerous psychological pressures, including changes in family environment and social networks, sexual problems and challenges of infertility stress which are associated with depression and psychological distress and can result in premature withdrawal of medical infertility treatments and unresolved feelings of loss and grief, as some researchers have found that the patients with infertility are equal to cancer patients in terms of depression and anxiety level and the infertile population suffer from lower self-esteem and less sexual satisfaction and matrimony satisfaction. (Peterson, 2011, Gipson, 2002).The present study aims to explore the effect of group therapy and couples therapy synthetically, with emphasis on cognitive- behavioral approach in order to increase sexual self-concept and to accelerate the effectiveness of medical treatments in the area of infertility. Materials and Methods: The research sample was carried out from 120 infertile women (1 to 6 years), age: 22 to 45, education diploma to Ph.D., among whom 30 subjects were chosen randomly by available sampling method and were categorized into two groups (n=15) of experiment and control, pre-test and post-test using Beck depression inventory (BDI), sexual self-concept questionnaires (20 sexual components), routine experiments of spermogram and sonography of ovulation, cognitivebehavioral therapy was run for 12 sessions (6 sessions of couples therapy, 6 sessions of group therapy). Results: According to the results of this research, this method of psychotherapy increased the self-concept infertile couple and reduced their stress and with research team efforts for 10 months, greater number of experiment group subjects were pregnant than control group subjects. Conclusion: This method of psychotherapy has been used to reduce psychological pressures associated with infertility so that the treatment of medical infertility may be effective more quickly and also the affective, emotional and economic costs of these families and society may be reduced.