Investigating the Effectiveness of Story Therapy and Art-Play Therapy on Children with Cancer

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of art-play therapy and story therapy on the problems of children with cancer admitted to the hospital. This was a semi-experimental, post-test-pre-test study with a control group. The statistical population of this research contains all children with cancer who were in the children's hospital. In this study, by using the purposeful sampling method, the desired samples were selected and replaced in three groups in a simple random manner. The experimental groups participated in story therapy, art-play therapy, and integrated therapy programs for 12 sessions. Based on the obtained results, art-play therapy and story therapy had a positive effect on the problems of hospitalized children with cancer. According to the findings of the current research, it can be stated that interventions based on art-play therapy and story therapy can be utilized to decrease the problems of children with cancer, which can be caused by the release of suppressed unpleasant emotions or inhibition of rumination. Based on this, it is suggested to use the techniques of story therapy, art-play therapy, and integrated therapy to reduce the problems of children with cancer in medical service centers, counseling, and hospitals.