Comparison of the Effectiveness of Play Therapy based on the Gestalt Approach and Parental Behavior Management Training (PMT) on Processing Speed and Working Memory of Children with Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of play therapy based on the Gestalt approach and parent behavioral management training on processing speed and working memory of children with signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This research was applied research in terms of purpose, quantitative research in terms of the nature of the data, and semi-experimental research with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group in terms of implementation. The statistical population consisted of all children aged 7 to 12 years who referred to counseling and psychology centers and clinics of Razi Hospital in Tabriz in the second half of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 due to symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. To select the research sample, 16 people were selected for each group in the form of purposeful sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group (48 people). The tools used in the research were two Wechsler4 processing speed and working memory scales. Based on the results of multivariate covariance analysis, the effect size values showed that the biggest difference was in the total score of processing speed with a coefficient of 0.478. was observed. The comparison of the interventions showed that the effectiveness of the Gestalt-based play therapy intervention on processing speed and working memory was significantly higher than the parent behavior management training intervention (p<0.05).