The Effect of Gestalt‑Based Counseling on the Level of Self‑Esteemand Intimate Partner Violence against Pregnant Women: A Randomized Control Trial

Background: Violence against women is a health problem that poses an additional threat to the mother and fetus during pregnancy. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of Gestalt counseling on self‑esteem and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was carried out on 60 pregnant women who were referred to health‑care centers in Kerman, Iran, in 2018. Simple random sampling was performed through lottery. The intervention group (n = 30) received counseling in eight weekly sessions of 45 min using the Gestalt approach. The control group was placed on a waiting list. There was no blinding during the study. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Domestic Violence Questionnaire designed by Mohseni Tabrizi, and the Rosenberg Self‑Esteem Scale before and after counseling. Results: Differences between the groups in terms of mean score of violence (intervention: t_34 = 1.81, p = 0.08; control: t_34 = 1.41, p = 0.16) and self‑esteem (intervention: t_34 = 1.87, p = 0.07; control: t_34 = 1, p = 0.32) in the pretest and posttest were not significant. Analysis of covariance results showed a significant difference between the intervention 21.79 (10.62) and control groups 21.79 (10.62) in terms of mean (SD) violence (F1,67 = 1.97, p = 0.049) after the counseling sessions. It also showed a significant difference between the intervention 74.47 (14.61) and control groups 66.28 (15.14) in terms of self‑esteem after the intervention (F1,67 = 5.02, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Considering the impact of the Gestalt approach on IPV and self‑esteem, it is recommended that health‑care providers be educated about using the Gestalt approach and apply it in communication with women.