The Effectiveness of A Cognitive-Behavioral Counseling Program in Reducing Social Anxiety among Students in the Resource Rooms of Ramallah and Al-Bireh Public Schools

Abstract

This study aims to recognize the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral counseling in reducing social anxiety among students in the resource rooms of Ramallah and Al-Bireh public schools. A semi- experimental design was used through a sample of 24 students (males and females), Age ranges between (12-14) year, who recorded high degrees in the social anxiety. They were divided into two groups: experimental and control. A social anxiety scale was used to collect the data, while a counseling program based on the cognitive-behavioral theory was designed for the study, and applied on the experimental group, in 12 sessions, as two session weekly with each session for 45 minutes. The study results showed statistically significant differences between the experimental and the control groups in the post measurement on the social anxiety, in favor of the experimental group. Differences between the pre and post measurement in the experimental group were also statistically significant, in favor of the post measurement. Additionally, there were no differences between the post and the long term measurements in the experimental group, which indicates the effectiveness of the applied counseling program in decreasing the social anxiety and six week follow-up effectiveness. The results also showed that the impact of the counseling program reached 0.936. Based on the results, the study recommends to apply the developed counseling program to other communities, and for similar or different indicative purposes.