Comparison of the Effect of Imago Relationship Therapy and Feldman's Integrated Approach on Marital Commitment in Conflicting Couples

Background and Objectives: Marriage has always been considered as the starting point of the family and hence is a complex and very delicate form of human relationship. Commitment is one of the critical predictors of an individuals' willingness to stay in a marriage and a determinant factor regarding its time and quality. In this regard, the present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of imago relationship therapy (IRT) and Feldman's integrated approach on marital commitment in conflicting couples in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental applied research was conducted based on a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of this study included all of the conflicted couples who referred to the Department of Women's Affairs in the Post Bank of the District 6 of Tehran municipality and a Psychological Clinic in the District 22 of Tehran municipality in 2018. In total, 30 couples were enrolled in the study who were equally divided into two groups of intervention and control. The required data were collected using the marital conflict questionnaire developed by Barati and Sanei (1998) and marital commitment questionnaire developed by Adams and Jones (1997). Moreover, the collected data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance. Results: Based on the results, both the IRT and Feldman's integrated approach affected the personal (F=27.63, P<0.001), ethical (F=69.70, P<0.001), and structural commitment (F=40.51, P<0.001). Nevertheless, IRT affected marital commitment more than the Feldman's integrated approach. Conclusion: It can be concluded that IRT and Feldman's integrated approach can improve the marital commitment of conflicting couples.

Imago Relationship Therapy Alignment With Marriage and Family Common Factors

Marriage and family common factors are used to understand the curative elements in marriage and family therapy (MFT) models of treatment. Sprenkle, Davis, and Blow identified four common factors of well-established MFT treatment models. This article deconstructs Imago relationship therapy (IRT), a widely used model of couples therapy, for the purpose of determining whether IRT utilizes the four curative common factors of MFT in its theory and practice. The analysis indicates that IRT does utilize the four broad common factors of MFT shared by other well-established models of MFT in addition to its narrow model factors that make it unique.

Couples Therapy and Empathy

Empathy is directly related to one’s satisfaction with a romantic partner, and therefore, most approaches to couples therapy explicitly address empathy as a means for creating positive relational change. Imago relationship therapy (IRT) is practiced extensively worldwide yet lacks research validating its effectiveness. Given IRT’s focus on developing empathy within the members of the romantic partnership, it is important to examine how empathy contributes to change in relationship satisfaction. This random and controlled study examined the impact of 12 weeks of IRT treatment on individual ( N = 60) empathy levels. Results showed a significant interaction between time and condition and found significant increases in treatment group empathy levels at each of three assessment points. These findings begin to emphasize the impact of IRT on couple empathy levels and highlight the potential benefits of using this particular therapeutic modality to promote positive relational change within romantic relationships. The research would have benefited from greater diversity within the sample and a greater understanding of the specific therapist interventions that impact client couple empathy levels.