Fundamentals of Mental Health

Fundamentals of Mental Health

Effectiveness of systemic-constructivist couple therapy on emotional expression and marital intimacy of spouses of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Narges Ghanbari 1
Mohammad Reza Khodabaksh 2
1 Ph.D. student, Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.
2 Assistant professor, Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.
10.22038/JFMH.2025.84342.3190
Abstract
Introduction: Veterans are involved with many physical and mental problems that affect their married life. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Systemic-Constructivist Couple Therapy (SCCT) on the emotional expression and marital intimacy of spouses of veterans who have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
 
Materials and Methods: The population of the present study was all veterans with PTSD who were referred to the Shahid Foundation of Mashhad City, Iran, in the third quarter of 2023. Thirty veterans with PTSD diagnosis were selected, and these veterans and their spouses were randomly replaced in two intervention and control groups. The participants were evaluated before and after the intervention with a marital intimacy scale and emotional expression questionnaire. The intervention consisted of eight sessions of systemic-constructivist couple therapy. The covariance statistical method was used to analyze the data.
 
Results: The results showed that the level of marital intimacy, intimate expression, and positive expression increased in the intervention group compared to the control group. Negative expressiveness in the intervention group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group (P< 0.01).
 
Conclusion: Therefore, systemic-constructivist couple therapy is effective in the emotional expression and marital intimacy of spouses of veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder.
Keywords
Emotional expression
Marital intimacy
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Systemic-constructivist couple therapy
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Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 27, Issue 2
2025
Pages 87-92