The Effectiveness of Narrative Therapy on the Feelings of Inferiority and Depression of Mothers of Mentally Retarded Children

Abstract Background & Purpose: The effectiveness of narrative therapy on the feelings of inferiority and depression of mothers of mentally retarded children was the aim of this study. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed using a quasi-experimental approach and using a pre-test-post-test-follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all mothers of mentally retarded children in Kashan in the academic year 1398-1399. Using the available sampling method, 24 people were selected as a sample and randomly assigned to two groups of 12 people (experimental and control). Participants answered Beck Depression Inventory (1961) and Yao et al.'s (1997) Standard Questionnaire on Pre-Examination, Post-Examination, and Follow-up. The experimental group received narrative-therapy intervention in 8 sessions of 1.5 hours and two sessions per week, while the control group did not receive any intervention during the study. Finally, the research data were analyzed by analysis of variance with repeated measures and at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The results showed that the mean scores of depression and feelings of humiliation in the experimental group compared to the control group decreased significantly in the post-test phase and this decrease remained relatively constant in the follow-up phase (p<0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results of research, narrative therapy can be considered as an effective intervention method in reducing the psychological problems of mothers of children with mental disabilities.