Simin Aminjafary - Department of Gaphic Design, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran
Mohammadreza Bagherilori - Department of Graphic Design, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran

Mental retardation is problematic due to cognitive limitations in two basic aspects of their lives,including social skills and self-esteem. A review of the research background has proven theeffectiveness of art therapy in dealing with mental retardation and the reduction of negativepsychological factors, such as aggression in them. As a result, the aim of this research is to examinethe effectiveness of art therapy on improving social skills and subjective mental self-esteem, whichso far has not been studied by researchers .For this reason, mental retardation was assigned to thecontrol and experimental groups and then under the treatment painting sessions. To analyze thedata, covariance analysis and SPSS software were used. The results showed that art therapy affectsthe improvement of social skills and the increase of mental retardation self-esteem.

Art Therapy; Social Skills; Self-Esteem; Mental Retardation