The Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) on Relationship Satisfaction in Couple Therapy

Author

Ruimeng Gao, Abilene Christian UniversityFollow

Campus Location

Abilene Campus (Residential)

Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Marriage and Family Therapy

Degree Name

Master of Marriage and Family Therapy

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Greg Brooks

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Lisa Merchant

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Joanna Méndez-Pounds

Abstract

This thesis explores the integration of loving-kindness meditation (LKM) into couple therapy sessions and its impact on relationship satisfaction. Meditation, historically rooted in religious practices, has increasingly been adopted in Western therapeutic contexts due to its demonstrated benefits for mental health and interpersonal well-being. Although mindfulness-based interventions have gained popularity in psychotherapy, research specifically examining the use of LKM in couple therapy remains limited. This study investigates whether incorporating LKM into therapy sessions enhances relationship satisfaction compared to standard therapy alone. Couples were randomly assigned to either a control group, which received standard therapy, or an experimental group, which practiced LKM for 10 minutes at the beginning of each session before continuing with standard therapy. Relationship satisfaction was measured using the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), and change scores were compared between groups using an independent two-sample t-test. Results indicated no statistically significant difference between groups, suggesting that the inclusion of LKM did not lead to greater improvements in relationship satisfaction. These findings offer insight into the complexities of implementing meditation-based interventions in clinical couple therapy settings and highlight directions for future research.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Gao, Ruimeng, "The Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) on Relationship Satisfaction in Couple Therapy" (2025). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 893.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/893