Thesis:

The effectiveness of group play therapy on reducing anxiety and increasing learning motivation in children with learning disorders in Neyshabur.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of group play therapy on reducing anxiety and increasing learning motivation in children with learning disabilities in Neyshabur. The statistical population of this study included all children with learning disabilities in Mehrgaman Special Primary School in Neyshabur in 1403 From the statistical population, using the available and voluntary sampling method and based on the scores of the Anxiety Questionnaire (Spence, 1977) and the Learning Motivation Questionnaire (Rezabakhsh, 1994) in the pre-test, 30 people who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria formed the statistical sample. These 30 people were randomly selected into two groups of 15 people, experimental and control, where the experimental group received group play therapy and the control group was on the waiting list. Also, analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data and SPSS-22 software was used to accelerate the results. The results of the study showed that group play therapy significantly reduced anxiety (generalized anxiety, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, fear of physical harm, and separation anxiety disorder) and increased motivation to learn in children with learning disorders in Neyshabur (p<0.0001).

Keywords: Group play therapy, anxiety, learning motivation, learning disorder