The effectiveness of group play therapy techniques on state anxiety, positive emotions and general compatibility level in special students with learning disabilities

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of group play therapy techniques on state anxiety, positive emotions and general compatibility level in primary school children with learning disabilities. In an experimental research design with pretest-posttest and a control group, out of 280 students from primary schools of Meshkin Shahr identified by CLDQ as students with learning disabilities 30 students were assigned to the experimental group and 30 students were assigned to the control group through available sampling method. The experimental group received 10 sessions of group play therapy. Data before and after treatment were collected by Spielberger`s State Anxiety Inventory, and Rotter`s incomplete sentences test. The multivariate analysis of variance results showed that with controlling the pre-test effect, group play therapy in experimental group compared with control group reduced the state anxiety and increased the positive emotions and general compatibility levels. These results suggest that group play therapy is an effective method to improve interpersonal relationships and decrease the negative emotions of children with learning disabilities.