The Effectiveness of Existential Group Psychotherapy on Increasing Hopes of Mothers of Children with Cancer

Cancer as a painful disease, from the beginning of diagnoses affects on physical, social, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the person and his/her family members specially the mothers. So the aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the existential group therapy on hopefulness in mothers of children with cancer.
This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and posttest scheme and a control group. The statistical population consists of mothers of children with cancer under thirteen which were supported by a community in Markazi province. Thirty parents of children with cancer were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Both groups were assessed with Miller Hope Scale 1988, as pre-test. The experimental group received cognitive-existential group therapy in eight sessions, each lasting nintey minutes, (two sessions per week) but no psychological intervention was applied to the control group. At the end of the intervention, both groups were reassessed through post-test. Miller Hopeness questionnaire were used as tools for this study. Data were analyzed by SPSS through analysis of covariance.
Results showed, there is a significant differences in hopefulness of mothers between the two groups. (P Psychotherapy for mothers of children with cancer can be one of the most effective methods of therapy and increases their hope.