The effectiveness of play therapy Based on cognitive-behavioral approach On the social competence and anxiety of children

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA in Counselling, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran. Iran

2 MA in Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar Branch, Garmsar, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Examination of referrals to child clinics shows that many children have problems with social competence and anxiety; The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of play therapy Based on cognitive-behavioral approach On the social competence and anxiety of children.
Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test with control group was used. Of all the children referred to clinics in district 6 of Tehran city in 1397, 30 were selected and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. Research tools were social competence and children's anxiety. The method of the study was that after the pre-test, the cognitive-behavioral game therapy was administered to the experimental group. Finally, both groups received post-test.
Results: The analysis of covariance showed that after eliminating the pre-test effect, the mean of post-test scores in social competence and children's anxiety were statistically significant (p <0.001).
Conclusion: This study showed that cognitive-behavioral play therapy is effective on increasing social functioning and decreasing anxiety in children.

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