The Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Differentiation of Self and Emotional Control among Couples with Marital Maladjustment

Introduction: The family is the most important constituent of the society and marital maladjustment is considered as a threat to growth and development in marital life. This study was conducted aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of group schema therapy on differentiation of self and emotional control in couples with marital maladjustment. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, during October 2018 to January 2019, among couples with marital maladaptation referring to counselling centers in Tehran, 16 couples were selected using purposeful sampling. Participants were assigned into two groups using block randomization. The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of Schema Therapy on weekly and based on Young Manual and the control group was placed on the waiting list. Questionnaires of Dyadic Adjustment, emotional control and differentiation were completed by the participants in two stages. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance in SPSS 21 software. Results: Primary outcomes showed that schema therapy had a significant effect on the four dimensions of differentiation of self; including emotional responsiveness (p<0.05), my position (p<0.01), emotional digression (p<0.01), and interactions with others (p<0.01). Secondary outcomes also showed the effectiveness of this intervention on emotional control in the form of emotional inhibition, aggression control,intellectual rumination and benign control(p<0.05) in couples. Conclusion: The findings of this study are in the line with the previous studies suggesting the role of maladaptive schemas in marital problems. Schema therapy had a significant effect on differentiation of self and emotional control in couples with marital maladjustment.