The Effect Of Child-Centered Play Therapy On The Social And Emotional Skills Of Children Discharged From Hospital

Background: Child hospitalization is considered a stressful event that can cause problems in children’s social and emotional skills. Therefore, parent-centered play therapy based on the Landers model is considered as an effective therapeutic intervention in this regard. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of child-centered play therapy on the social and emotional skills of children discharged from hospital. Method: This experimental study was conducted on 60 people, who were allocated in two intervention (30 people) and control (30 people) groups. The data collection tool was social emotional skill questionnaire with 56 questions. Data were analyzed by SPSS-21 statistical software, using descriptive and inferential statistics (paired t-test and independent t-test). Results: The result of independent t-test showed a significant difference between the intervention and control groups before and after the intervention (P 0.01), so that the level of social skill in the intervention group was higher than the control group. Also, the paired t-test showed a significant difference in the intervention group before and after the intervention (P 0.01). Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of this intervention, it can be recommended to all specialists dealing with children’s health and wellbeing in order to reduce behavioral problems, increase socially desirable behaviors and control emotions in children.