The Effectiveness of Image Relationship Therapy on Communication Patterns and Marital Burnout in Couples

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Image Relationship Therapy on communication patterns and marital burnout in couples. The purpose of this study was applied and its method is the experiment was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and follow-up with the control group. In this research, the sampling method of couples referring to counseling centers in Tehran was voluntary sampling. The sample included 30 volunteers in Tehran who were placed in two groups of 15 (Couples) and 15 (Couples) they got. Then, for the experimental group, Image Relationship Therapy was performed in 10 sessions in a group. However, for the control group, meetings did not take place. The data were collected using Marital Burnout Questionnaire (Pines,1996) and Communication Patterns Questionnaire (Christensen & Sullaway,1991). Data analysis was performed using repeated measures analysis of variance. The results showed that Image Relationship Therapy is effective on increasing the constructive communication model and reducing the mutual avoidance communication patterns, relationship between the expectation of retirement and marital Burnout of couples, and this effect persists until follow up. According to the results, it is suggested that training workshops Communication imagery is being set up in counseling centers and family education classes to use these tutorials to further improve communication patterns and reduce couples marital Burnout.