Acceptance and Commitment Couple Therapy for Relationship Improvement

Study of the effectiveness of couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment on distress tolerance, rumination, and marital adjustment of couples with marital conflicts referring to psychological counseling centers

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

IRCT

Registry ID

IRCT20260315068992N1

Enrollment

Registered

2026-03-18

Start date

2026-04-04

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-06-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Marital Conflicts. Adjustment disorders

Interventions

Intervention 1: Intervention group: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) based couples therapy. Session Duration: 90 minutes. Total Number of Sessions: 8 sessions. Session Frequency: Twice a week.

Introduction to ACT and the concept of “Creative Hopelessness.” Session 2: Identifying marital problems from an ACT perspective

beginning values exploration. Session 3: Practicing acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings

mindfulness. Session 4: Deepening values

linking values to behavior. Session 5: Defusion techniques for observing thoughts. Session 6: Planning committed actions

overcoming obstacles. Session 7: Strengthening value-based connections

practicing new skills. Session 8: Post-test

wrap-up

follow-up planning. Intervention 2: Control group: The control group will not receive any intervention during the implementation of the research. However, to prevent threats to the internal validity o

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

20 Years to 35 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Married couples with a duration of marriage not exceeding 3 to 5 years Scoring above the average on the rumination questionnaire Scoring below average on marital adjustment and distress tolerance Couples must have marital conflicts and meet diagnostic criteria

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Individuals unwilling to participate in the study participation in other psychotherapy sessions

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Distress Tolerance. Timepoint: 1. Pre-test (before the intervention begins). 2. Post-test (immediately after the intervention period ends). 3. One-month follow-up after the intervention. Method of measurement: The measurement tool will be the Simons and Gaher Distress Tolerance Questionnaire (2005).;Rumination. Timepoint: 1. Pre-test (before the intervention begins). 2. Post-test (immediately after the intervention period ends). 3. One-month follow-up after the intervention. Method of measurement: The measurement tool will be the Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow (1991) Rumination Questionnaire.;Marital Adjustment. Timepoint: 1. Pre-test (before the intervention begins). 2. Post-test (immediately after the intervention period ends). 3. One-month follow-up after the intervention. Method of measurement: The measurement tool will be Spanier’s Marital Adjustment Questionnaire (1976).	—

Measure

Time frame

Distress Tolerance. Timepoint: 1. Pre-test (before the intervention begins). 2. Post-test (immediately after the intervention period ends). 3. One-month follow-up after the intervention. Method of measurement: The measurement tool will be the Simons and Gaher Distress Tolerance Questionnaire (2005).;Rumination. Timepoint: 1. Pre-test (before the intervention begins). 2. Post-test (immediately after the intervention period ends). 3. One-month follow-up after the intervention. Method of measurement: The measurement tool will be the Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow (1991) Rumination Questionnaire.;Marital Adjustment. Timepoint: 1. Pre-test (before the intervention begins). 2. Post-test (immediately after the intervention period ends). 3. One-month follow-up after the intervention. Method of measurement: The measurement tool will be Spanier’s Marital Adjustment Questionnaire (1976).

—

Countries

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Contacts

Public ContactAzam Safari

Islamic Azad University

azzm.safari@iau.ir+98 61 5233 2752

Outcome results

None listed

Source: IRCT (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Jun 11, 2026