The effectiveness of Gestalt play therapy on self-esteem and social adjustment in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) experience several behavioral and emotional problems. The present study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Gestalt play therapy on self-esteem and social adjustment in children with AD/HD. This quasi-experimental controlled study was conducted with a pretest posttest design. The statistical population consisted of all the male students aged 7 to 12 years referred for hyperactivity disorder to the counseling centers of the Education Department of Saveh, Iran, in 2016. A total of 30 children with AD/HD were randomly allocated to the intervention (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The intervention received by the intervention group consisted of Gestalt play therapy in the form of eight 45-minute sessions. The data collection tools included the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Lambert Adaptive Behavior Scale. Data were analyzed in SPSS-21 using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage and diagrams) and inferential statistics (Levene’s test and the ANCOVA). The results showed a significant difference between the self-esteem score obtained in the pretest (16.47±3.021) and posttest (20.40±4.2) in the intervention group (P=0/001). There was also a significant difference between the mean score of anxiety obtained in the pretest (229.31±5.06) and posttest (242.87±8.15) before and after the social adjustment training (P=0/001). The findings showed that Gestalt play therapy enables AD/HD children to focus on their cooperation and friend-finding skills while playing and enjoying their time and ultimately achieve an improved self-esteem and social adjustment.