The Effectiveness of Existential Group Therapy on Increasing Intimacy and Marital Satisfaction in Depressed Married Women

Introduction & Objective: Depression is a common mental illness that causes mental, occupational, and physical dysfunction. Most empirical studies on the causes of depression adopt a predisposition-depression model in which vulnerable individuals become depressed when external stressors outweigh the individual's personal resources to overcome the illness. In addition to examining genetic predispositions, research on depression has paid much attention to the study of personality vulnerabilities. Therefore, achieving a healthy society obviously depends on the health of the family and the realization of a healthy family is conditional on the mental health of its members and having a favorable relationship with each other. Therefore, improving the health of family members in their relationships will undoubtedly have positive effects on society. When the family center includes a healthy environment and warm relationships and intimate interpersonal interaction, it can lead to the growth and development of family members. The existence of a satisfactory marriage is a place of intersection and exchange of positive feelings and emotions between couples, and the formation of a normal family plays an important role in the health, quality, and satisfaction of married life and the well-being of the whole society. An important expectation from the pattern of marriage in today's world is that couples pay attention to each other's needs for love, intimacy, and affection. Also, people consider marriage to be the most intimate relationship of adulthood, a relationship for which the main source of affection, support, and satisfaction. The ability to cultivate intimacy is an interpersonal factor, the importance of which is often highlighted because of its essential role in the development of close relationships and its relationship with marital satisfaction. Thus, intimacy creates both personal and communication satisfaction and is the main factor in providing health, adjustment, happiness, and a sense of meaning in couples; Besides, intimacy seems to improve commitment in relationships and increase communication compatibility, so this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of existential group therapy on intimacy and marital satisfaction of depressed married women.   Method: The present study with the code IR.IAU.BOJNOURD.REC.1399.009 was approved by the ethics committee of Islamic Azad University Bojnourd branch. Quasi-experimental research method with pre-test, post-test with a control group and two-month follow-up and the statistical population of married female clients applied for counseling from two counseling and psychology centers in Mashhad in the period of October to November 1398. Beck Depression Inventory, 56 women who scored higher in this questionnaire according to the inclusion criteria, which were: having at least a diploma, more than 3 years of married life, and no mental or physical illness available 30 women were selected. For these people, the research plan including the number of sessions, the duration of each session, and the issues raised in the sessions, were fully explained, and after obtaining their full consent and desire in the research company, written consent was obtained and their names were included in the research list. Became; Then 30 women were randomly selected into two experimental groups (15 women) and a control (15 women). Research tools: Walker and Thompson Marital Intimacy Questionnaire (1983) and Enrich Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire, 1989; Also, the intervention program of the educational-therapeutic package of the existential theory of Frankel and Yalom models were taught to the experimental group in 8 90-minute group sessions. Data were analyzed using repeated measures mixed analysis of variance.   Results: The results show that group existential therapy was effective on the score of marital intimacy (P = 0.020) with an effect size of 0.18 and also on the score of marital satisfaction (P = 0.017) with an effect size of 0.18. Also, the comparison of the three stages in the experimental group and the control group shows that the difference between marital intimacy and marital satisfaction in the post-test and follow-up stages in comparison with the pre-test is significant and this effect remains stable until the follow-up stage; While in the control group, these differences are not significant.   Conclusion: The aim of this study was the effectiveness of group existential therapy on intimacy and marital satisfaction of depressed married women. The results of this study show that the mean of marital intimacy in both experimental groups in the post-test stage has increased compared to the pre-test. Also, repeated measures analysis of variance confirms that this intervention has been able to affect marital intimacy in the post-test and follow-up stages, and this effect has remained stable until two months after the end of the training, according to the results of the Bephroni post hoc test. According to the research literature, each of these approaches is one of the most effective and successful interventions in the field of psychotherapy. A look at the extent of the impact of each of these approaches on marital intimacy in explaining the findings of this study will be enlightening. The basis of all human relationships is the need to belong, to love, to acknowledge, and to respect. Hence, a healthy relationship is characterized by interdependence, calculation, and an existential relationship based on generosity and mutual love. As a result, existential psychotherapy helped married women in the experimental group to get to know each other better during a dynamic relationship with their husbands and family members; Get acquainted with their inner and fundamental needs, meanings and values​​, and explore them in the depths of their being. They were also trained to identify challenges in their relationships, to approach the issue from their own perspective, and then to try to address the issue from the perspective of the other person as well as the perspective of a third person to address all aspects of a Get acquainted with the problem and challenge and then take action to reduce the challenges in the heart of their relationship by accepting their role and responsibility. According to the research findings, group existential therapy can be used to improve intimacy and marital satisfaction.