مطالب

Objective: The current research aimed to examine the effectiveness of positive cognitive behavioral therapy on psychological flexibility and the meaning of life among single women aged 25 to 35 in Tehran. Methods: The method of the study was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design, including a control group and a follow-up phase. The population of this study consisted of single women aged 25 to 35 from Tehran, who had visited the community centers of District One during the second half of 2021. The sampling was purposive, and the study sample included a control group and an experimental group, each consisting of 20 randomly placed participants. The experimental group received 8 bi-weekly two-hour sessions in a group setting, following the protocol of Bannink (2014). Instruments used in this study included the Bond Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (2011) and Steger's Meaning in Life Questionnaire (2010). Data analysis was conducted in two phases: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. For inferential statistics, given the design of the study, parametric tests and the normality of data distribution were assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test and univariate analysis of covariance, and data analysis was performed using SPSS version 24. Findings: The findings indicated that positive cognitive behavioral therapy significantly increased psychological flexibility (F = 75.22, p = .001) and enhanced the meaning of life (F = 57.13, p = .001) among the participants, and these effects were maintained during the follow-up phase. Conclusion: Positive cognitive behavioral therapy can be an effective method for improving psychological flexibility and meaning in life among single women and can be utilized by therapists and clients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of resilience and self-compassion in the relationship between perceived stress and psychological distress with marital adjustment among individuals attending counseling centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This research was conducted using a descriptive-correlational methodology through the structural equation modeling approach. The population included all individuals with marital discord attending private counseling centers in Isfahan during the winter of 2021, who were experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 150 people were selected through convenience sampling and responded to the research instruments. Research Instruments: The instruments included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler et al., 2003), the Spanier Marital Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), the Self-Compassion Scale by Neff et al. (2011), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003), and the Perceived COVID-19 Stress Scale by Campo-Arias et al. (2020). Data were analyzed using PLS software and structural equation modeling. Findings: The results indicated that the effect of stress on resilience was significant (t=7.61), stress on self-compassion (t=3.91), resilience on adjustment (t=9.34), compassion on marital adjustment (t=2.09), psychological distress on resilience (t=5.4), and psychological distress on self-compassion (t=2.56) were significant (p≤0.05), and resilience and self-compassion played mediating roles between the variables. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, reducing perceived stress and psychological distress impacts increasing resilience and self-compassion, and with the enhancement of self-compassion and resilience, marital adjustment improves.

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of positive therapy on fear of intimacy and suicidal thoughts in girls experiencing romantic relationship dissolution. Methods: This semi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest-follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population included 401 individuals who visited a counseling center in Tehran. From this population, 30 girls experiencing romantic relationship dissolution were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, each consisting of 15 individuals. Data were collected using the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire and the Fear of Intimacy Scale. The experimental group received 8 sessions of positive therapy, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with SPSS.24 software. Findings: The results showed that positive therapy had a significant effect on reducing fear of intimacy (F=24.87, P<0.001) and suicidal thoughts (F=19.87, P<0.001) in girls experiencing romantic relationship dissolution. Conclusion: It can be concluded that positive therapy leads to a reduction in fear of intimacy and suicidal thoughts in girls experiencing romantic relationship dissolution and can be effective in reducing psychological problems in this population.

Objective: The present study aimed to explore the socio-cultural challenges of family therapy. This applied research utilized a qualitative phenomenological approach. Methods: The study population consisted of specialists in various fields of couples and family therapy in Tehran province during the years 2022-2023, who met the inclusion criteria for the study. The inclusion criteria were psychologists or counselors with a Master's or Doctoral degree who had at least five years of experience in one of the family-related fields and were willing to collaborate in the research. A purposive, snowball sampling method was used, continuing until data saturation was reached, with a final selection of 15 specialists. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection, and the data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Findings: The findings revealed 24 initial concepts, 5 sub-themes, and 2 main themes as the socio-cultural challenges and factors that perpetuate these challenges. Ineffective application of existing family therapy theories in response to societal changes, social harms affecting family systems over time, and socio-cultural-economic damages were among the sub-themes of challenges. Differences in opinions regarding the strengthening of theory-building and the approach to localizing interventions without relying on existing theories were identified as factors that sustain these challenges. Conclusion: This study offers a new perspective on the impact of societal context on the effective or ineffective implementation of interventions based on non-native theories, providing an alternative approach to examining the issues of cultural insularity in interventions, beyond considerations of religion and written documents in research.

This paper discusses the role of religions and specifically, religious leaders, in peacebuilding. To achieve the purpose, in the first place, the authors shed light on the controversial issue among scholars perceiving religion more commonly as a source of conflict, or rather than  a tool for peacebuilding. Accepting the constructive and productive role of religions in general, and Islam in particular, in peacebuilding, the paper also explores the role of concepts such as forgiveness, patience, and human dignity in peacebuilding. Having applied this conceptual framework, this article studies peacebuilding in post-war Iraq. The findings revealed that the role of religious leaders (Marjaiah), mainly Ayatollah Sistani, has been significant in the process of peacebuilding in Iraq. He has played a crucial role in this process through the revival of human dignity in light of public will, pursuing justice in terms of the Constitution, self-restraint as a basis for political stability and, religionization of forgiveness and tolerance. Data is accumulated through content analysis of Ayatollah Sistani’s speeches and Fatwas.