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Abstract
Background & Purpose: The aim of this research was the effectiveness of imago therapy training on
cognitive flexibility and cognitive avoidance of mothers with mentally retarded children.
Materials and Methods: The method of this research was semi-experimental and was carried out using
a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical community consisted of all mothers with
mentally retarded children in Birjand city in 2022-2023. 28 mothers of intellectually disabled children were
selected from among the statistical population using the available sampling method, and they were randomly
replaced in the form of two experimental (14) and control (14) groups. In this research, in order to collect
research data, cognitive flexibility questionnaire by Dennis and Vanderwaal (2010) and cognitive avoidance
by Sexton and Dagas (2008) were used. The experimental group underwent imagotherapy training for 10
sessions of 9 minutes, while the control group did not receive the training certificate. The data were analyzed
through multivariate analysis of covariance.
Results: The results of the research data analysis showed that imago therapy training was effective in
improving cognitive flexibility and reducing cognitive avoidance of subjects (P<0.01).
Conclusion: The results of this research indicated the useful application of imago therapy training approach
in improving cognitive flexibility and reducing cognitive avoidance of mothers with intellectually disabled
children.