The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy on Self Esteem of Children With Intellectual Disability

Objectives: The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT) on the self-esteem of children with intellectual disability. Methods: Pre-test and post-test, control group, quasi-intervention design was adopted for the study. The study sample consisted of 40 children conveniently selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria from among educable intellectually-disabled children in two care centers for children with special needs in Tehran, who were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. In both the groups, the pre-test was conducted by the Cooper-smith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI) and then for the intervention group, CBPT sessions were performed in 12 sessions of 60-minute each (two days a week). The post-test was also administered to both the groups after intervention. The data obtained were analyzed using independent t-test and Levine's test by SPSS software. Results: Self esteem was observed to be significantly increased in the intervention group (P