Effectiveness of Play Therapy and Story Therapy on Depression and Anxiety Skills among Children with Leukemia: A Comparative Study

Cancers are the most important cause of death from diseases and children with leukemia have poor social skills and are very aggressive.

This study aimed to compare the effects of play therapy and story therapy on social skills and aggression in children with leukemia.

This study was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up. The statistical population included all children with leukemia referred to Mahak Center in 2019. 45 children were selected and equally divided into one control and two experimental groups. The follow-up stage was performed on all groups three months after the post-test. The research instruments included Aggression Children Questionnaire and Social Skills Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.

Compared to the control group, both treatments had a significant effect on social skills and aggression in leukemia children (p<0.05). Also, play therapy had a greater impact on social skills and aggression than story therapy (p<0.05).

The effectiveness of play therapy on social skills and aggression in leukemia children was more than story therapy, so play therapy is recommended for children.