The effectiveness of emotion-focused couple therapy on improving sexual self-efficacy and reducing marital conflict in women affected by infidelity

Introduction & Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-oriented couple therapy on sexual self-efficacy and marital conflict in women affected by infidelity. A fundamental hypothesis in the emotion-focused approach is that until each couple is unable to share their attachment needs in the areas of satisfaction and security with each other, marital conflicts begin to form. The emphasis of emotion-oriented couple therapy is on the method of adaptive attachments, through care, support and mutual attention to the needs of the individual and the spouse. The goal of emotion therapy is to reconstruct interactions and thus create new cycles of relationship engagement by helping spouses access the underlying emotions and underlying needs of relationship supportive reactions. This approach encourages people to talk about their emotions, discuss the relevant topic in therapy sessions, and emphasize the reconstruction of emotions into bonds of secure attachment between spouses. Emotional responses can lead to the satisfaction of the individual's needs and therefore the main purpose of such treatment is to improve the person's awareness of emotions. During the three decades of formulating and developing the model and application of emotion therapy, this type of therapy has been considered as one of the couples therapy models that has had the most research support empirically. EFT proposes that emotions themselves have an innately adaptive potential that if activatedcan help clients change problematic emotional states or unwanted self-experiences. This viewof emotion is based on the belief, now gaining ample empirical support, that emotion, at itscore, is an innate and adaptive system that has evolved to help us survive and thrive. Emotionsare connected to our most essential needs. They rapidly alert us to situations important to ourwell-being. They also prepare and guide us in these important situations to take action towardsmeeting our needs. Emotion thus set a basic mode of processing in action. Clients are helped in therapy to better identify, experience, explore, makesense of, transform and flexibly manage their emotions. As a result, clients become more skill-ful in accessing the important information and meanings about themselves and their world thatemotions contain, as well as become more skillful in using that information to live vitally andadaptively. The research findings of Zakarini, Johnson, Dalgish and Makinan (2013) show that emotion-based couple therapy is effective in forgiving and reconciling couples and creating emotional correlation between them. Tai and Paulson (2013) also found emotional couple therapy to be effective in increasing marital adjustment. Holchock (2012) applied the emotion-oriented approach to eighteen couples complaining of marital distress and found that couples developed less emotional disorder, higher marital adjustment, more trust and support, and a safer attachment style after receiving emotional therapy. They gave. Greenberg, Varvar, & Malcolm (2010) examined the effectiveness of emotional couple therapy in facilitating forgiveness and resolving couples' emotional trauma, including anger and resentment over infidelity, abandonment, or insult. According to what was said, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-oriented couple therapy on improving sexual self-efficacy and reducing marital conflict in women affected by infidelity. Method: The research design was quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical population included women affected by the infidelity of their husbands in Bushehr who in 1397 in order to solve their marital problems referred to the counseling centers of the Welfare Office and under the supervision of that office in Bushehr. From this population, 30 couples were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The emotion-focused couple therapy protocol was developed based on Johnson (2012) in eight 90-minute sessions. Both groups answered the questionnaires of sexual self-efficacy (Vaziri and Lotfi Kashani, 2013) and marital conflict (Barati and Sanaei, 1996) in the pre-test and post-test stages. Results: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed that emotion-oriented couple therapy had a significant effect on sexual self-efficacy and marital conflict (Partial η2 = 0.690, P <0.001, F = 27.855). The ETA coefficient showed that 69% of the variance of the dependent variables of sexual self-efficacy and marital conflict can be explained by the independent variable of emotion-oriented couple therapy. Conclusion: The results showed that the rate of marital conflict in couples after emotionally oriented couple therapy sessions significantly decreased and sexual self-efficacy improved. Findings of this study can provide useful information for counselors and psychotherapists about the effectiveness of emotional couple therapy on sexual self-efficacy and marital conflict. In this study, the effectiveness of emotion-oriented couple therapy on improving sexual self-efficacy and reducing marital conflict in women affected by infidelity was investigated. The results showed that the rate of marital conflict in couples after emotionally stimulated couple therapy sessions significantly decreased and sexual self-efficacy improved. Findings of this study can provide useful information for counselors and psychotherapists about the effectiveness of emotional couple therapy on sexual self-efficacy and marital conflict. From the achievements of this research, it can be concluded on both theoretical and practical levels. At the theoretical level, the results of this research can confirm the results of previous research. At the practical level, the findings of the present study can be used to develop educational and treatment programs. The present study has some limitations that should be considered in generalizing the results. The sample of the present study is available and the sample members have been selected from the couples who have referred to the counseling and divorce reduction department of Bushehr Welfare Office, therefore the generalization of the results to other couples should be done carefully. Self-reporting of the tools used and small sample size are other limitations of the present study. Therefore, it is recommended that this research be performed on a larger sample size to confirm or refute the hypotheses more strongly. Since this treatment was performed with couples in Bushehr, it is recommended to study its effectiveness on couples in other areas as well. It is suggested that studies compare the effectiveness of the emotion-oriented approach with other therapeutic approaches in the field of couple and family in order to get a clearer picture of the effectiveness of this treatment.