The Effectiveness of Body Psychotherapy on Improving the Level of Inhibition and Attention of Elementary Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Body Psychotherapy on improving the level of inhibition and attention of elementary students.

The study design was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of elementary students studying at four public schools (2 boy specific - 2 girl specific) in Mashhad during 2018-2019 school year. Using Convenience sampling method, 44 elementary students were selected and randomly assigned to two groups (12 boys and 10 girls in the experimental group, 11 boys and 11 girls in the control group). The experimental group received thirty-six 60-min sessions of Body Psychotherapy for three months during which the control group was placed on the waiting list. The measuring tools used in this study were computerized tests of Word-Color Stroop and Continuous Performance. Data were analyzed using MANCOVA and independent t-test.

The results showed that students in the experimental group significantly outperformed those in control group in the components of Word-Color Stroop and CPT tests (p>0.05). The findings suggest that Body Psychotherapy is an effective way to improve the level of inhibition and attention of elementary students.