The Effect of Group Counseling Program In Decreasing Anxiety And Depression Among Children of Mothers with Chronic Illness

Abstract

This experimental study sought to explore the impact of group counseling program  in decreasing levels of anxiety and depression  among a sample of children of mothers with chronic illness which consisted of (32) students and whose  ages ranged between 12-14 years old. The participants were divided randomly into two groups: an experimental group, who received counseling program based on the cognitive behavior therapy and a control group who didn't receive any counseling program. Results of pretest to posttest differences for the experimental and control groups on the study scales revealed that the treatment group compared to control group was significantly more likely to have lower anxiety and depressive symptoms. Further, results of post- follow-up tests comparisons for each of the dependent variables showed that while grades on anxiety improved to become lower, grades on depression regressed to become higher, but these differences were not significant