The effectiveness of the dialectical behavioral therapy on the cognitive and emotional strategies of couples on the verge of divorce

The prevalence of divorce has increased worldwide in recent decades, with a range of negative consequences endangering the mental health of families. The purpose of the current study was the study of the effectiveness of dialectical behavioral therapy on the cognitive and emotional strategies of couples on the verge of divorce in Khorramabad. The research design was pretest-posttest test with a control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of all couples applying for divorce referring to divorce reduction center in Khorramabad city in 2018. The sample of the study consisted of 32 couples referring to the divorce reduction center of Khorramabad city who were selected by purposeful sampling method and were assigned randomly to two experimental and control groups. . For the experimental group couple therapy based on dialectical behavioral therapy skills were conducted and control group didn’t receive any intervention. The study data were gathered by Gratez and Zumer emotional regulation difficulties (2004) and problems in cognitive abilities (Nejati, 2013). To analysis the data multivariate covariance analysis were used. The result indicated that couple therapy based on dialectical behavioral therapy skills in comparison of control group were more effective in emotional regulation difficulties and problems in cognitive abilities (p≤0/001). Therefore in regard of the effectiveness of dialectical behavioral therapy can be used these interventions in the family counseling and psychotherapies environmental.