Comparison of the Effectiveness of Relaxation and Cognitive-Behavioral Hypnosis Therapy on Children's Stress

Background and Objectives: Mental calming techniques including relaxation and cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy, are very important because they induce relaxation, a pleasant feeling and a sense of well-being. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of relaxation and cognitive-behavioral hypnosis therapy on children's stress. Materials and Methods: In a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test study, among all fifth grade male elementary school students in the second district of Mashhad in the academic year 2020-2021, 45 people were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly divided into three groups (Experiment one: Relaxation, Experiment Two: Cognitive-behavioral hypnosis therapy, group 3: control group). The experimental groups received the intervention program, but the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were collected through a stress questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results showed that relaxation training and cognitive-behavioral hypnosis therapy were effective in reducing children's stress (P < 0.01), and there was no difference between the effectiveness of two therapies in reducing children's stress (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Relaxation training and cognitive-behavioral hypnosis therapy can be used as an alternative treatment along with other psychological interventions in the treatment of children's psychological problems.