Amir Azhdari; Asie Moradi; Jahangir Karami
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of existential group therapy on the interpersonal communication of the elderly in a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test ...
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The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of existential group therapy on the interpersonal communication of the elderly in a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test and a control group. The population of this research included all the elderly people of Kermanshah city, and one center was randomly selected from among the three existing centers (Mehrgan Day Rehabilitation Center for the Elderly). Among them, 20 elderly people were selected as research samples; 10 were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and 10 were randomly assigned to the control group. The experimental group received one intervention session per week (2 hours per session) for 8 weeks, and the control group did not receive any intervention. The participants of both groups were assessed in the pre-test and post-test. The data were analyzed using the statistical method of covariance analysis. The results showed that existential therapy improved interpersonal relationships (P < 0.001). As a result, it is recommended to use existential group therapy for the elderly who have weak interpersonal relationships.