Studying the Influence of the Academic Teachings of Counseling Students and Graduates on Their Perspectives about Marriage and Marital Relationships: A Qualitative Study

Aim: The present study was conducted to study the lived experiences of graduate students in the field of counseling and to examine the influence of their education process on their views on marriage and marital relationships. Methods: The method of this research was qualitative and phenomenological in type. Participants in this study were 16 graduate students, selected through purposeful sampling. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews. Findings: In the dimension of positive experiences, 4 main themes were obtained that included raising awareness, growing awareness of personal abilities, improving interpersonal communication skills, and experiences around marriage. Finally, the following themes of the main categories are understood: self-awareness, increasing awareness of other people's personality traits, growing self-confidence, feeling beneficial, improvement of family and social relationships, achieving a systemic view in the family, increasing empathy, control emotions, changes in attitudes toward premarital acquaintance and emphasis on premarital counseling, new attitudes about marriage, importance of awareness about premarital counseling, and changes in gender stereotypes (in male participants). In the dimension of negative experiences, the main themes included experiences related to the phenomenon of marriage and negative effects on relationships. The following themes were extracted: decreased emotional excitement about the partner, increased sensitivity and obsession in relationships, change in attitudes toward men (on the part of female participants), creating a sense misunderstanding in family and social relationships due to differences in the level of knowledge, and existence of some level of irrational expectations from graduates in this field. Conclusion: According to the findings, the lived experience of participants showed that studying counseling can influence the personal life and perspective about marriage and marital relationships from different aspects.