ABSTRACT Although emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT) is one of the few relationship models with a substantial evidence base, these effectiveness studies have mostly been conducted with White middle-class participants living in North American and European contexts. There is, therefore, a need to investigate if couples from different contexts are able to relate to this model that foregrounds the verbal expression of emotion and responsiveness to a partner's expression of emotion. The objective of this qualitative pilot study was to explore how a group of 10 Black South African couples related to and experienced the Hold Me Tight (HMT) relationship psychoeducation program intervention that is based on the principles of EFT. The data consisted of couple interviews with each couple before and after implementation of the program. Thematic analysis of the data indicated that all the couples related very well to the program and reported that it deepened their relationships. We conclude by highlighting a number of factors that program facilitators need to be mindful of when they implement the HMT in similar settings to ours: (i) the need to have a team of cofacilitators to assist couple conversations, (ii) power differentials between facilitators and participants in cases where there are many demographic differences between facilitators and participants, and (iii) implicit constructions of emotions that prevail in a specific social context.

中文翻译：

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在南非环境中试行以情感为中心的夫妻治疗小组心理教育计划

摘要 尽管情感聚焦夫妻疗法 (EFT) 是少数具有大量证据基础的关系模型之一，但这些有效性研究主要是针对生活在北美和欧洲环境中的白人中产阶级参与者进行的。因此，有必要调查来自不同背景的夫妻是否能够与这种将情绪的口头表达和对伴侣情绪表达的反应放在首位的模型相关联。这项定性试点研究的目的是探索一组 10 对南非黑人夫妇如何与基于 EFT 原则的“抱紧我”(HMT) 关系心理教育计划干预相关并进行体验。数据包括在计划实施之前和之后对每对夫妇的夫妇访谈。对数据的专题分析表明，所有夫妇都与该计划有很好的关系，并报告说它加深了他们的关系。最后，我们强调了项目协调人在与我们类似的环境中实施 HMT 时需要注意的一些因素：(i) 需要有一个共同协调人团队来协助夫妻对话，(ii) 协调人之间的权力差异和参与者在促进者和参与者之间存在许多人口统计学差异的情况下，以及（iii）在特定社会背景下普遍存在的情绪的内隐结构。