Testing the Impacts of Rational-Emotive Couple Intervention in a Sample of Parents Seeking Divorce.

This article investigates the impact of Rational-Emotive Couple Intervention (RECI), an adaptation of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), on marital burnout among Nigerian parents seeking divorce. Using a randomized controlled trial with 67 participants, the study found that RECI significantly reduced marital burnout immediately post-treatment and at a three-month follow-up, with effects consistent across genders. The research also identified a strong positive association between marital burnout, parental irrational beliefs, and depressive symptoms, suggesting that irrational beliefs contribute to marital burnout and related depression. The findings support RECI as an effective cognitive-behavioral approach to improving psychological well-being in distressed couples and highlight its potential application in clinical and community settings to reduce divorce-related psychological distress.