The effectiveness of a counseling program based on play therapy in reducing shyness among fifth-grade students

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a counseling program based on play therapy in reducing shyness among fifth-grade students. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher adopted a quasi-experimental design with two groups: an experimental group and a control group. The study sample consisted of (30) fifth-grade female students from Amouriya Basic Second School affiliated with the Directorate of Education of Marka District in Amman. The participants were selected using purposive sampling and were divided into two groups: an experimental group consisting of (15) students and a control group consisting of (15) students. The researcher developed a counseling program based on play therapy consisting of (12) counseling sessions, with each session lasting (45) minutes. A shyness scale was used as a data collection instrument and was administered before and after the program, in addition to a follow-up measurement to examine the continuity of the program’s effect. The results revealed statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups on the post-test of the shyness scale in favor of the experimental group, indicating the effectiveness of the counseling program based on play therapy in reducing shyness. Furthermore, the results showed no statistically significant differences between the post-test and follow-up measurements among the experimental group, indicating the continuity of the program’s effect after its implementation. The study recommended integrating counseling programs based on play therapy into school counseling programs to reduce shyness and enhance social interaction among basic-stage students.