Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Spirituality Research in Health Sciences 3041-8569 2 1 2024 04 02 Effectiveness of islamic spiritual-religious group training on psychological disturbance and guilt of mothers with mentally retarded students 90 99 10.34172/srhs.2024.008 EN Nazila Mazruei https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6103-6108 Marziyeh Alivandi Vafa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1197-9598 Naimeh Moheb https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1220-8821 Journal Article 10.34172/srhs.2024.008 2024 01 15 2024 02 28 Background. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Islamic spiritual-religious group training in reducing psychological distress and feelings of guilt among the mothers of students with mild intellectual disabilities. Methods. This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test design including a control group. The population consisted of all mothers whose children with mild intellectual disabilities were enrolled in the 2020-2021 academic year at exceptional schools in Tabriz. Among them, 24 mothers were selected as the study’s sample, with 12 participants in the experimental group and 12 participants in the control group. Purposeful sampling was used based on the objectives of the study. The data collection tools used were the DASS psychological distress questionnaire and the self-aware emotion questionnaire for guilt. The experimental group received the spiritual-religious approach training program (11 sessions), while the control group did not receive any educational program. Results. The results obtained from multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that the group training based on the Islamic spiritual-religious group training was effective in reducing psychological distress and feelings of guilt among the mothers of students with mild intellectual disabilities (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion. Based on the results obtained from this study, it can be inferred that the Islamic spiritual-religious group training can be used as an effective intervention to reduce feelings of guilt and improve psychological distress among the mothers of students with mild intellectual disabilities.