حسن شفایی

 Objective: Reports showed that a cognitive-behavioral therapy effectively helps patients overcome a wide variety of maladaptive behaviors such as anxiety. The aim of the present study was to further examine this issue by exploring the effects of a cognitive-behavioral therapy on academic anxiety of children with learning disorders.Methods: The quasi-experimental research design was pretest-posttest with a control group. The statistical population included 32 children (9-13 years) with academic anxiety (mild, moderate and severe) who were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly (using a coin-throwing method) assigned to two experimental and control groups. The standard School Anxiety Scale questionnaire was used to measure academic anxiety. The behavioral-cognitive therapy program was implemented for 12 sessions, 3 sessions of 45 minutes each week for the experimental group. After the intervention, all participants participated in posttest. Paired sample t test, independent t test, and analysis of covariance were used to analyze data.Results: The average of academic anxiety before the intervention in the experimental and control groups was 23.94±2.18 and 22.87±3.64, respectively, and the independent t-test did not show a significant difference (P=0.39). The average of the groups shows that the academic anxiety scores of the experimental group have decreased compared to the pre-test scores (t=16.58, P<0.001). Finally, the results of ANCOVA showed that a cognitive-behavioral therapy has led to a reduction in academic anxiety (P<0.001).Conclusion: Reconstructing children’s thoughts and beliefs helps them to identify their wrong thoughts about the exam and gradually replace them with correct beliefs and thoughts. Therefore, teachers and practitioners can use cognitive-behavioral therapy to help children with learning disorders to have less anxiety without feeling hurt from the negative evaluation of others. 

  Objective : It is crucial to prioritize the enhancement of teachers’ mental health within the education system. As a result, this study aims to examine the impact of a Pilates training course on the psychological and mental well-being of school teachers, encompassing aspects such as depression and self-esteem. Methods : The research was carried out using a quasi-experimental approach. The study involved 60 elementary school teachers who were chosen through convenience sampling and then randomly and equally divided into two groups - experimental and control. Data was collected using standard questionnaires. T tests and ANCOVA were used to analyze data.  Results : The results showed that there is no significant difference in both depression and self-esteem in the pretest (both P>0.05). However, it was observed that experimental group had significantly lower depression and higher self-esteem compared to control group in the posttest (both P=0.001). Finally, the results of ANCOVA showed significant differences between experimental and control groups in both depression and self-esteem (both P=0.001). Conclusions : These findings indicate that it is possible to recommend Pilates exercise and movement activities as a way to improve mental health, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, efficiency, positive mood and reduce mental and emotional tensions in school teachers.

 Objective: Identifying factors that can positively influence the mental health and resilience of healthcare workers is crucial. As such, this research aims to explore the impact of aerobic exercise on depression and resilience among healthcare workers. Methods: This study was conducted as an experiment, focusing on healthcare workers employed in hospitals in Tehran. A sample of 64 health care workers was selected using a convenience sampling method. These individuals were then randomly divided into two control groups (32 people each) and one experimental group (32 people). Data was collected using standard questionnaires. T tests and ANCOVA were used to analyze data. Results: The results showed that there is no significant difference in both depression and resilience in the pretest (both P>0.05). However, it was observed that experimental group had significantly lower depression and higher resilience compared to control group in the posttest (both P=0.001). Finally, the results of ANCOVA showed significant differences between experimental and control groups in both depression and resilience (both P=0.001).Conclusion: These results suggest that physical activity and sport can be considered as an important factor in coping with severe job-related conditions in healthcare workers. Therefore, by increasing physical activity and sport, better conditions can be created for healthcare workers to ensure their mental health.