The Effectiveness of Storytelling on Reducing Anxiety and Improving Social Phobia of Mentally Retarded Children in Kermanshah

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of storytelling therapy on reducing anxiety and improving social phobia in mentally retarded children in Kermanshah in the academic year of 2018- 19. In this study, pretest-posttest design with control group was used. In the present study, 20 children with high anxiety and social phobia were selected as the sample group from the available sample. The experimental group received eight two-hour storytelling sessions for one month and the control group participants were placed on the waiting list. Analysis of findings using independent analysis of covariance showed that storytelling therapy reduced anxiety and social anxiety in mentally retarded children. The most important results of this study are the effectiveness of storytelling method and its usefulness in reducing anxiety and improving social phobia in these children. Therefore, it can be concluded that storytelling therapy has been effective in reducing anxiety and social phobia in mentally retarded children.