Comparing the effectiveness of short-term dynamic psychotherapy and schema-based therapy on the resilience and mental health of couples

Background and purpose: The level of health and mental health in marriage is one of the important criteria that determines the quality of life of couples. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of short-term dynamic psychotherapy and schema-based therapy on resilience and mental health of couples. Research method: The current research is applied and of an experimental type with a pre-test and post-test design. Among the couples of Tehran city in 1403, 45 people were selected by available sampling method and one group waiting for treatment and two experimental groups (each group of 15 people) were randomly replaced. An experimental group of 8 sessions of 90 minutes was trained with the schema-based treatment method and an experimental group of 8 sessions of 90 minutes was trained with the short-term dynamic psychotherapy method, and the waiting group did not receive training. The groups completed the Mental Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Questionnaire as a pre-test and post-test. Covariance statistical test was used to analyze the data. Findings: The results showed that there was a significant difference in the mean mental health score in the short-term dynamic psychotherapy trial group and in the schema-based therapy trial group (p<0.01) and there was no significant difference in the control group. Also, the results showed that schema therapy has more effectiveness and durability than short-term dynamic psychotherapy in improving and increasing couples' resilience. Conclusion: The findings of this research acknowledge the importance of using schema therapy and short-term dynamic psychotherapy in increasing the mental health and resilience of couples. These two approaches can be used to reduce the damage in marital relationships.