Applied Research in Consulting

Abstract The aim of the present study was to study the effectiveness of the acceptance and commitment intervention with a positive approach to disease acceptance and coping self-efficacy in patients with MS. The current study was a semi-experimental pre-test-post-test with a control group. The current research was semi-experimental and in the form of a pre-test-post-test research design with a control group. The statistical population of this research includes all patients with MS in Mashhad who visited the neurology clinic of Eastern Iran in 1402. The sample size included 30 patients with MS who were selected by purposeful sampling, then randomly divided into 2 groups of 15 people, experimental and control. A disease acceptance questionnaire and coping self-efficacy questionnaire were used as research tools. Based on the analysis of covariance in SPSS software, it was found that the intervention of acceptance and commitment with a positive approach to disease acceptance and coping self-efficacy in patients with MS is effective (P<0.05).

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between marital satisfaction, marital quality, and positive psychological states, with a focus on the mediating role of love styles. This research adopts a quantitative methodology and has practical applications, employing an equation model type correlation method. The statistical population of this study comprises all educators in Marivan city from 2001 to 2022, from which 350 participants were selected using simple random sampling and Cochran's sample size formula. Data were collected using the Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (ENRICH) by Olson (1989), the Positive Psychological States Questionnaire (PPS) by Rajaei et al. (2012), the Revised Marital Quality Questionnaire (RDAS) by Busby et al. (1995), and the Sternberg Love Style Questionnaire (STLS) by Sternberg (1986).This study utilized AMOS-24 software to analyze data and test hypotheses based on a correlation matrix and path model. The findings of this research indicate that the quality of marriage has a strong predictive power for changes in love styles, with a correlation coefficient of 0.79. Furthermore, positive psychological states are also positively correlated with changes in love styles (r = 0.09, p < 0.04), although this effect is weaker than the relationship between marriage quality and love styles. Importantly, love styles have a significant positive and meaningful mediating role between marital quality and marital satisfaction, with a mediation rate of 0.55%.On the one hand, love styles with a rate of 0.08 are unlikely to play a meaningful mediating role between psychological structures and marital satisfaction in couples

Abstract The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of attachment-based group training of mothers in reducing stress in mothers of preschool children.The study design was quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test, and follow-up with a control group. 260 mothers of 4 to 6 years old children were selected by random sampling from nursery schools of Tehran’s first and second districts, completed the Abidin’s Parenting Stress Index questionnaire (1990). Based on obtained scores on this scale and considering other including and excluding criteria, 31 mothers were finally selected as research sample and were assigned in experimental and control groups. Ghanbari’s Attachment-based Mothers’ Training Package (2013) was given to the experimental group during 8 weekly group sessions at nursery schools. After training sessions, and 2 months later, The Parenting Stress Index scale was completed by both groups and for analysis data used multivariate analysis of variance method. The results indicated that Attachment-based Mothers’ Training Package reduced the stress level of mothers in the experimental group, and the results of follow-up showed that these changes were stable over 2 months.

Abstract The objective of this study was to explore the process of symptom improvement in patients with depression undergoing Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP). The research employed a single-case experimental design with multiple baselines and follow-up assessments. The participants were conscripted soldiers diagnosed with major depressive disorder from a military unit in Isfahan, during spring 2024. Three participants were selected through purposive sampling and individually received the ISTDP protocol based on Davanloo’s (1995) method in 8 weekly 90-minute sessions. Assessment using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) was conducted across 12 time points: 4 baselines (1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks before the initial session), 4 interventions (post sessions 2, 4, 6, and 8), and 4 follow-up stages (1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks post-treatment). Data analysis involved visual charting, percentage improvement, and Reliable Change Index (RCI) measures. Results indicated a downward trend in BDI-II scores beginning at intervention, with improvement sustained through one-month follow-up, supporting ISTDP as a viable treatment option for depression.