فصلنامه روانشناسی شناختی

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on marital conflict and the cognitive representation of partner responsiveness in women affected by infidelity. Marital infidelity is considered one of the most severe crises in intimate relationships, leading to extensive consequences such as increased marital conflicts and impairment in the perception and representation of partner responsiveness. Schema therapy, as an integrative and in-depth approach focusing on identifying and modifying early maladaptive schemas, can help rebuild emotional and cognitive patterns in couples. The research was conducted using a quasi-experimental design with pretest–posttest and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all married women who referred to counseling centers and psychological clinics in Babol during the winter of 2024 and had reported experiencing marital infidelity. Among them, 45 participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to three groups: schema therapy, compassion-focused therapy, and control. The schema therapy group received ten ninety-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Marital Conflict Questionnaire and the Perceived Partner Responsiveness Scale, and analyzed through multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The findings indicated that schema therapy significantly reduced marital conflicts and improved the cognitive representation of partner responsiveness in women affected by infidelity (p < 0.01). Furthermore, schema therapy was more effective than compassion-focused therapy in reducing marital conflict. Based on these results, schema therapy can be considered an effective intervention for improving the psychological consequences of infidelity and may be applied in family counseling centers and clinical interventions for marital crises.