Effectiveness of Spiritual Group Counseling on the Psychological Well-Being of Girls from Divorced Families

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Divorce is a stressful life event both for parents and children. Nowadays, an increase in the divorce rate is one of the major problems and concerns in many countries of the world, especially in Iran. Divorce can be a deterrent factor in the personal growth and development of the children from broken families. This study aimed to develop a groupcounseling model based on spirituality to boost psychological well-being in girls from divorced families. Methods: This experimental study was conducted on a total of 20 girls from divorced families using pretest-posttest control group design. The study population were selected through convenience sampling technique. The subjects were divided into two groups of experimental (n=10) and control groups (n=10). Those in the experimental group were taught spiritual issue in 8 sessions (2 h per session) in a form of group counseling model. The well-being of the participants was assessed by the 48-item Ryff's Psychological Well-being Questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed by ANCOVA. Results: The results showed that spiritual group counseling could significantly increase the psychological wellbeing of girls from divorced families (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that spiritual therapy can be used to increase the psychological well-being of girls from divorced families.