Effect of infidelity therapy on improving mental health of betrayed women

Abstract

The aim of this work is to assess the effectiveness of infidelity therapy on improving mental health of betrayed women. Procedure of sampling was purposeful in which 15 wives (20-35 years old) who had experienced betrayal were participating in group psychotherapy sessions after preliminary interview. Fifteen betrayed women were included. Infidelity therapy sessions at three stages were held for them. They were assessed by “the spouse betrayal examination questionnaire” and “28-question form of Goldberg Public Health Questionnaire (GHQ)” at two pre-test and post-test stages. The most important reason of spousal betrayal was “seeking variety and having inclination to different sex partners”. Mean (standard deviation) total score of mental health improved significantly after infidelity therapy sessions at post-test stage (25.53 (17) vs. 17.86 (12.75); P = 0.001). There was significant effect of group psychotherapy sessions on improving mental health of the betrayed women. We recommend this behavioral technique in similar situations for betrayed women.   Key words: Infidelity therapy, mental health, women.