Comparison of the Effectiveness of Existential Therapy and Schema Therapy on Marital Self-Regulation in Married Women with Multiple Sclerosis

Liah Aqa Ali Akbari; Mahdieh Rahmanian; Amin Rafieipour

Authors

Liah Aqa Ali Akbari Department of Clinical Psychology, KI.C., Islamic Azad University, Kish, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3950-7402
Mahdieh Rahmanian Professor, Department of Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6745-1426
Amin Rafieipour Associate Professor of Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4645-422X

Keywords:

Existential Therapy, Schema Therapy, Marital Self-Regulation, Relational Self-Regulation, Multiple Sclerosis, Married Women

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of existential therapy and schema therapy on marital self-regulation and its components in married women with multiple sclerosis. This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest control-group design with a three-month follow-up. The statistical population included married women with multiple sclerosis receiving services from the Iranian Multiple Sclerosis Society, Tehran Branch, during the first six months of 2026. Forty-five eligible participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to existential therapy, schema therapy, and control groups, with 15 participants in each group. The two experimental groups received 10 weekly group sessions of existential therapy or schema therapy, while the control group received no psychological intervention during the study period. Marital self-regulation was assessed using the 16-item Marital Self-Regulation Questionnaire at pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance and LSD post-hoc comparisons. Repeated-measures analysis showed significant time, group, and time-by-group interaction effects for marital self-regulation and its components in both intervention comparisons (p < .05). For existential therapy, the time-by-group interaction was significant for marital self-regulation (F = 393.935, p < .001, partial η² = .934), relational self-regulation (F = 258.278, p < .001, partial η² = .902), and relational effort (F = 114.623, p < .001, partial η² = .804). For schema therapy, significant interaction effects were also observed for marital self-regulation (F = 171.169, p < .001, partial η² = .859), relational self-regulation (F = 101.862, p < .001, partial η² = .784), and relational effort (F = 136.165, p < .001, partial η² = .829). LSD comparisons indicated that both interventions significantly outperformed the control group at posttest and follow-up, whereas differences between existential therapy and schema therapy were not statistically significant (p > .05). Both existential therapy and schema therapy were effective in improving marital self-regulation and its components in married women with multiple sclerosis, and neither intervention demonstrated statistically significant superiority over the other.

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