1. Introduction
he couple is the founder of the family and the family is the main pillar of society. Accordingly, the health and dynamism of society depend on the health of the family and the couple; the consequences of any threats to the family are imposed on society [1]. Infidelity is among the worst events that occur in romantic relationships and challenges the stability of the family [2]. Indore et al. [3] argued that 21%-25% of men and 11%-15% of women have committed adultery during their lifetime. Schelford, Leblanc, and Dross [4] stated that spouses affected by infidelity suffer emotionally, mentally, and physically; they develop severe psychological reactions to this crisis, including feelings of anger, guilt, hopelessness, loss of confidence, damage to self-esteem, and prolonged depression and anxiety [5]. 
Negative emotions and feelings, if not properly regulated, will reduce a subject’s mental and communication health [6]. A characteristic associated with marital infidelity is Emotion Regulation (ER). ER positively enhances automatic responses to related emotional stimuli; subsequently, it prevents the growth of negative emotions and enables an individual to adaptively cope with negative emotions. Thus, such individuals are less prone to generating individual and interpersonal health problems. Adaptive ER is also associated with self-esteem and social interactions, increased positive emotional experiences, and effective coping with stressful situations [7]. A couple of therapy approaches that focus on family communication and emotion is Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT). According to the literature, the emphasis of EFCT is on adaptive attachment through care, support, and mutual attention to the individual and spouse’s own needs. Instead of expressing strong emotions, couples seem to express emotions, i.e., less threatening to them [8].
Other interventions to reduce tensions and disorders in marital relationships include compassion-based therapy [9]. Jacobs, Cruz, Wilson [10], Westiben, Rosen, Billaragion [11] also acknowledge that having self-compassion is effective in improving marital relationships. Failure to intervene in improving emotion management skills, as well as the negative consequences of exposing infidelity to spouses, can increase social harms, such as substance use disorders, divorce, etc., and incur heavy medical costs on the health, and judicial systems. Therefore, the necessity of preventing these injuries and various negative consequences are mentioned. There exists a domestic research gap on the comparison of EFCT and self-compassion-based therapy in women affected by infidelity as an injury. Thus, the present study aimed to compare the effects of EFCT and self-compassion-based therapy on ER in women affected by infidelity.
2. Methods
This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test-post-test and a follow-up design. The study population included all couples involved in marital infidelity who were referred to Iranmehr Counseling and Psychological Services Center in Rasht City, Iran, in 2020. Of them, 20 couples were selected as the sample by convenience sampling method. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ; Garnefski et al., 2001) was used to collect the required data. EFCT and self-compassion-based therapy sessions were performed for 16 four-hour sessions (one treatment every two hours) weekly. After 3 months of treatment sessions, couples also participated in a follow-up session to measure the maintenance of treatment effects. The obtained data were analyzed using a combined Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
3. Results
 The present study results suggested that both interventions were effective in increasing ER in couples; however, there was no significant difference between EFCT and compassion-based therapy on ER (F=1.57, P=0.218). Thus, there was a significant difference in ER scores among women affected by infidelity between assessment phases in the EFT group (F=11.27, P=0.001). Follow-up scores also increased; there was a significant difference between ER values in women affected by infidelity between assessment phases in the CFT group (F=14.29, P=0.001). In other words, the level of women’s ER increased from the pre-test session to the follow-up. There was no significant difference between ER values ​​ between the two groups in different assessment phases (F=1.57, P=0.218).
Therefore, this study hypothesized that there is a difference between EFCT and compassion-based therapy on ER in women affected by infidelity. In other words, both interventions were effective on ER; however, the difference between the effects of the two methods was not statistically significant.
4. Discussion and Conclusion
The present study aimed to compare the effects of EFCT and self-compassion-based therapy on ER in women affected by infidelity.
The current research results highlighted the effectiveness of both methods on ER; however, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of these interventions. Thus, the main hypothesis of this study was rejected. 
The main hypothesis of the study was that there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of EFCT and self-compassion-based therapy on ER. Accordingly, these approaches were both effective in this respect. Instead of simplifying emotion, as part of the problem of marital turmoil, it emphasizes it as a powerful agent of change. In EFCT, the therapist helps clients to change the elements in a destructive relationship.
When the negative cycle is disrupted and the responses begin to change, a more positive cycle emerges that helps women to move towards a safer link. The goal of EFCT is to make clients access, express, and reprocess the emotional responses that underlie their negative interaction pattern. Women can then send new emotional signals to their husbands that allow interactive patterns to become more accessible and responsive, resulting in a safer and more satisfying bond. This secure bond established in the relationship between women affected by infidelity with their husbands enables them to raise their sexual needs and the associated emotional symptoms with their husbands; this is achieved by raising and discussing their sexual dissatisfaction.
Therefore, by overcoming their feelings of shame and guilt, they can achieve further marital satisfaction in their life together. Compassion also acts as a positive psychological trait to improve the quality of communication. Individuals with higher self-compassion have higher self-esteem, human commonalities, and mindfulness, and are more efficient at regulating and balancing emotions. Therefore, it uses more effective strategies in coping with stressful living conditions; as a result, the rate of expression and creation of undesirable emotions such as anxiety is greatly reduced.
Compassion is a kind of mindfulness through which a subject allows the self to experience and, of course, accept unwanted emotions, without being frustrated by the existence and feeling of negative emotions. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the difference between these approaches to ER is not statistically significant (Table 1). 



Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of theGuilan University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.GUMS.REC.1399.662. The participants were informed about the purpose of the research and its implementation stages. They were also assured about the confidentiality of their information. They were free to leave the study whenever they wished, and if desired, the research results would be available to them.

Funding
This research did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors. 

Authors' contributions
All authors equally contributed to preparing this article.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.



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