effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on cognitive fusion in couples seeking divorce

Objective: this study examined the efficacy of emotion-focused therapy (eft) in addressing cognitive fusion among couples seeking divorce.methods: using a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test assessments and a control group, the study recruited 30 couples from counseling centers in tehran's fifth district in 2023 through convenience sampling. participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=15 couples) receiving eight 90-minute eft sessions twice weekly or a control group (n=15 couples) placed on a waitlist. cognitive fusion was measured using the cognitive fusion questionnaire (cfq). data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance (ancova) in spss-24.results: post-test results indicated a statistically significant reduction in cognitive fusion in the experimental group compared to the control group after adjusting for pre-test scores.conclusions: emotion-focused therapy effectively reduced cognitive fusion in divorce-seeking couples. given its therapeutic benefits, eft should be integrated into psychological and family therapy interventions to mitigate cognitive fusion in high-conflict couples.