Combined effectiveness of the therapeutic benefits of clay in play therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy on children s behavioral-emotional Disorder

Background: The individuals physical, behavioral, and emotional growth is most significant during childhood and adolescence. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of play therapy with clay and cognitive-behavioral therapy on children s behavioral-emotional disorders. Methods: The study was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test. The participants were selected by simple random sampling and divided into an experimental (n= 15) and a control (n = 15)group. The statistical population consisted of all children aged 7 to 9 years, living in Mobarakeh,Iran, during 2017-18. The intervention of play therapy with clay and cognitive-behavioral therapywas conducted in ten 45-minute sessions; the participants were assessed by the Child BehaviorChecklist and finally both prior to and one month after the intervention. Data was analyzed by the useof SPSS software version 23.0.Results: The results of data analysis, on the 30 male participants with a mean age of 8.1 years, showed that after the therapeutic intervention, there was a significant decrease in the scores of behavioral-emotional problems (p 0.05) of the participants in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: According to the results, psychotherapeutic interventions of play therapy with clay and cognitive-behavioral therapy can help decrease the behavioral-emotional problems among 7-9-year-old children.