The Effectiveness of a Religious Counseling Program According to Albert Ellis' Theory in Treating Depression among Syrian Students in Karak Qasabeh’s Schools, Jordan

The study aimed to identify the effectiveness of a religious counseling program according to the Albert Ellis’s theory and its effect in treating depression among Syrian students in Karak Qasabeh’s schools, Jordan. To achieve the objectives of the study, the quasiexperimental approach was used, whereby the study individuals were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group who does not receive the counseling program and the other is experimental group to which the counseling program is applied. Pre and post-test of the depression variable were performed for both groups, and follow-up was measured for the experimental group only. The study population and its sample consisted of (60) Syrian students in Karak Qasabeh’s schools during the year 2019/2020, and they were divided into two groups, the experimental group of (30) students, and the control group of (30) students. The results of the study showed the effectiveness of a religious counseling program according to the theory of Albert Ellis in treating depression among Syrian students in Karak Qasabeh’s schools.


Introduction
Lately, many mental disorders have spread, including depression, as the statistics of the American National Institute of Mental Health showed in the early 1980s that depression is ranked first in psychological crises due to its high prevalence among individuals (Al-Shabawon, 2011, p. 771).
Depression has a tremendous effect on a person's mind and body, and also affects his thinking, behavior and behavior, and causes many disorders and psychological and health crises, and he is unable to carry out his daily work, and he feels that there is no value or meaning in life, which led to informing those concerned with mental health that depression is a disease that requires For long-term treatment as a chronic health disease, as the ability to diagnose and treat the disease early contributes to reducing or ending its symptoms, as most individuals diagnosed with depression early improve quickly and return to their work (DeFilippis, 2018, p2). Depression is a psychological disease that affects the feelings, behaviors, and thinking pattern of the affected individual, which leads to a series of emotional, health and physical crises, and his loss of the meaning and value of life (Parveen, Yousuf and Chaudhry, 2015, p1 Khurshid).
Individuals may face many mental illnesses as a result of a number of causes, such as those facing Syrian refugee students, which show images of constant anxiety and tension. As a result of the war and led them to leave their homelands and seek refuge in neighboring countries, depression is one of these diseases that increased among young people and caused them to change their way of thinking and personalities (Abbas, 2016, p. 3).
In order to explain the individual's feeling of depression, Albert Ellis came up with his theory about emotional behavioral therapy, which explained that people are the ones who create behavioral and psychological crises, and this is due to the way in which they explain the situations they are going through, as the individual's thinking, behaviors and emotions affect and are affected with each other, And for this, (Albert Alice) acknowledged that individuals feel psychological disorders that form in them since childhood or through difficult situations; This indicates that images of an individual's thinking and all what he believes are authenticated by his psychological disorders (David, 2007, p5).
Here, the researcher sees that all the difficult situations that the individual went through in an era full of tremendous changes, especially what the Syrian refugees face, which are filled with violence, fear, killing and harm, and this is what led them to feel insecure and helpless, and afflicted them with psychological disorders and crises such as depression caused by the impact of asylum.

The Study Problem
It is known that the psychological formation of an individual has an impact on his life, especially for Syrian refugee students who have suffered from depression.
Its effect appears greatly in childhood and youth due to the changes that emerge from it in its physiological nature, which requires that both families and schools pay attention to this category, without starting to use psychological counseling and therapeutic religious programs (Al-Tashtoush and Al-Asmar, 2017).
In addition, the researcher noted the negative impact of depression on Syrian refugee students due to the consequences of war and asylum, where the study of (Khurshid, Parveen, Yousuf and Chaudhry, 2015) showed that depression has a negative effect on students' academic performance, and also the study of (Naushad, Farooqui, Sharma, Rani, Singh and Verma, 2014) showed that symptoms of depression are what indicate their mood and feelings. Failure and dissatisfaction with himself and his hate and blame her, thinking of suicide, fatigue and loss of appetite, which harms the extent to which it is necessary to provide psychological support to this group of students by employing religious therapeutic programs that reduce the level of feeling of depression. Accordingly, the current study problem answers the main question: What is the effectiveness of a religious counseling program according to Albert Ellis' theory in depression among Syrian students in Karak?

Study Hypotheses
1. There is no effectiveness of a religious counseling program according to Albert Ellis' theory in treating depression among Syrian students in Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan .

Objectives of the Study
The present study aims to identify the effectiveness of a religious counseling program according to Albert Ellis' theory in treating depression among Syrian students in Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan.
The Importance of the Current Study The Importance of This Study is as Follows: 1. The theoretical importance: it lies in the following: -The dearth of studies that dealt with a religious counseling program according to Albert Ellis' theory in depression among Syrian students in Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan, within the limits of the researcher's knowledge, this study is one of the few studies in this field in Jordan.
-Quantitative addition to the literature related to this field, which contributes to helping those interested in education to the need to pay attention to Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan.
2. Practical importance: it lies in the following: -Knowing researchers, decision-makers and those interested in the religious counseling program to reduce the feeling of depression among Syrian students in Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan.
-Providing researchers with a tool for measuring and comparing depression according to the theory of emotional-behavioral therapy / Alice among Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan, in comparison with ordinary people.
Procedural definitions: -Religious psychological counseling: Ismail (2020, p. 371) defines it as: "A specific stepbased plan, based on religion, to be put in place to help individuals solve a problem." -Depression: It is defined as: "an emotional state in which feelings of sadness, distress and worry appear. This condition accompanies many symptoms related to cognitive, mood and behavioral aspects, including sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, fatigue, and poor concentration" (Belaid, 2018, p. 4).
• It is defined procedurally as: The overall score obtained by Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan, on the Beck Depression Scale.
• The theory of emotional-behavioral therapy (Alice): It is defined as: "Helping the individual to identify and change his irrational thoughts and beliefs, replace them with more rational ideas, and develop them with the aim of helping him to cope with positive and effective adaptation and management of various life pressures" (Al-Atoum & Saiss, 2013, p.

Study Variables
Independent variable: a religious counseling program according to Albert Ellis' theory.
Dependent variable: depression. Theoretical framework: -Depression: The term (depression) stems from the Latin word "Depressio" and means drowning, as a person feels mood disorders whose intensity varies from normal to severe clinical disorder syndrome and has several symptoms different from the person's normal condition (Bernard, 2018, p3); Depression is considered a severe psychological disorder that negatively affects the individual's feeling, thinking and behavior, causing feelings of sadness, frustration and lack of interest in practicing his daily acts that are loved for him, as well as losing or increasing weight and appetite, sleep problems, slow movement and a sense of lack of value, and thinking about suicide. Therefore, it is a disorder that affects a person and makes his mood worse and makes him feel constant sadness and despair and the absence of interest in himself and those around him (Parekh, 2017, p1).
-Cognitive theory (Beck, 1979) explained depression through three cognitive models that Beck called (the triad cognitive), which have a role in shaping a person's depression, and lies in the person's self-perception: thinking in a negative pattern of experience when he thinks he has A personal world full of problems and it is not possible to reach his vision in life as a result of these problems, as well as the person's view of the world around him: as he looks at himself in a negative pattern and sees himself as socially unacceptable, and his life has no benefit and values, and this is related to a moral defect or mental deficiency. And he rejects himself, in addition to his negative view of the future: as he believes that the obstacles he is experiencing now will remain with him for the future, so he feels frustrated and despondent (Pössel and Thomas, 2011, P2).

Symptoms of Depression
And because depression is a disease that affects both the mind and the body, it has several symptoms that appear on the patient, and their severity varies from person to person, including (McKinsey, 2013, pp. 5-6): 1. Psychological symptoms: they are: irritable, lack of interest in daily activities, constant anxiety, loss of feeling, depressed thinking, hallucinations, lack of focus, delusion, and suicidal thinking.
2. Physical symptoms: such as sleep disturbances as a result of constant anxiety, mental and physical slowdown, loss of appetite or excessive, permanent stress, and the feeling of permanent headache, abdominal and back pain, and digestive disorders such as constipation or diarrhea, irregular menstruation.

Causes of Depression
Mitjans and Arias (2012.p70) explain that depression has many causes, which are represented by the following factors: 1. Biological factors: Most antidepressants have a negative effect on the brain and nerves, and also hormonal imbalances in the body lead to the emergence of a state of depression, which occurs due to pregnancy or childbirth in women or thyroid disorder.
2. Genetic factors: Most of the psychological studies indicated that there is an increase in the incidence of depression in the family that has a history of this disease, so the interpreters are working to search for that gene that causes the disease.
3. Psychological, social and lifestyle factors: It is considered one of the main causes that greatly help a person suffer from depression. 4. Environmental factors: financial crises, psychological disorders, losing a loved one, and difficult life circumstances all lead to depression.

Types of Depression
Depression has several types, which are represented as follows (Chavoushi and Cesar, 2013.p7): 1. Mild or moderate depression: This depression lasts for a maximum of two weeks, and its symptoms and damage to the individual's life, and the patient experiences a state of frustration, loss of vitality, and lack of happiness.
2. Severe depression: In this depression, the depressed individual cannot perform his duties except in a simple way, and he cannot complete them, and in this case the specialist doctor should be increased and subjected to treatment, and most of the time a person thinks about death, he also suffers from physical pain, such as: low self-esteem, loss of appetite, stress, and social isolation.
3. Bipolar disorder: This disorder is described as one of the chronic diseases, but it is characterized by the fluctuation of mood and the boundary between mania and depression, and the most severe cases of this disorder, the individual suffers from a loss of communication with his reality, and deals with others in an illogical manner.
4. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) This disorder is called "winter depression" disorder: which begins in the early fall and winter seasons, resulting in fear, stress, mood swings, and sleep disturbances.
Major depression differs from recurrent unipolar depression in that it needs to be assigned to the manic phase, and it is possible to facilitate the process of appointing it by mental health doctors and specialists, as bipolar depression is required through the history of the family that suffered from mental illness or from alcohol or drug abuse (Baldessarini, Tohen, Vieta, and Bowden, 2010, (P145.

The Theory of Emotional Behavioral Therapy (Albert Ellis)
Many psychologists and therapeutic counseling experts have been interested in the theory of emotional-behavioral therapy because it is one of the theories concerned with methods of treatment and psychological, behavioral and cognitive counseling. This theory was established by the scientist (Albert Ellis) in the 1950s, whose philosophy revolved around the fact that man, with his biological vanguard, is affected by the disturbances and crises surrounding him that affect his thoughts and beliefs in order to become irrational, and affect their behaviors and thinking, as he emphasized the negative role of man about his beliefs, He explained that the prevention of immersion into illogical perceptions increases the ability of the individual to realize himself and protect him from falling into mental disorders. This indicates that the main purpose of the theory of emotional-behavioral therapy is confined to changing the irrational and illogical thoughts and transforming them or replacing them with rational and rational thoughts full of flexibility, happiness and joy (Najafi and Baranovich, 2014, p1).
The theory of emotional-behavioral therapy is defined as one of the forms of treatment that focuses on behavioral and cognitive methods, as it works to define and define the problem and then choose the most appropriate patterns for each level (Dobson and Mastikhina, 2015, P542).

Objectives of the Theory of Emotional Behavioral Therapy
Teater (2013, P5) identified a number of objectives for the theory of emotional behavior, namely: 1. The ability to confront irrational beliefs. 2. Reducing distorted knowledge and working to correct it. 3. Self-acceptance. 4. Learn patterns and methods of thinking rationally.
5. The delivery of the guided individual and linking him to his reality. 6. Increasing the individual's ability to take risks. 7. Train guides in rational love and compassion. Albert Ellis' model of irrational thoughts: Emotional-behavioral counseling is based on an educational model expressed in the following symbols (D.E.F A.B.C) as: (A) Activating event or adversity is concerned with active situations or experiences.
(B) Beliefs about event or adversity represents a system of beliefs that the individual adopts as such that it is connected to it to provoke his emotional disturbances.
(C) Emotional consequences are concerned with reactions to exciting events that generate an individual's response.
(D) Disputations to challenge irrationalism concerned with refuting ideas by exploring and discussing irrational thoughts and distinguishing between irrational and destructive thoughts.
(E) Effective new beliefs replace the irrational ones, which is the effect of irrational thoughts.
(F) It is concerned with modern feelings, in which the guide relied in forming the theoretical structure of the program on a number of foundations, principles and procedural steps that were referred to through the theoretical narration of the rational and emotional trend (Majli, 2011, p.204).

The Role of the Guide in the Process of Emotional Behavioral Counseling
The guide has a number of roles following the theory of emotional-behavioral therapy (Abdelghani, 2016, p. 106): 1. The guide assists the person with his own wrong ideas about social adaptation, and works to refute those ideas and replace them with rational ideas.
2. Helping the person keep his rational thoughts. 3. The guide uses the rational persuasion process to replace faulty ideas with rational ones.
4. Assigning the person to homework. 5. The person achieves flexibility in thinking and accepting changes.

Previous Studies
The study of Aladdin and Alhayh (2017), which aimed to reveal the effect of a group counseling program in reducing anxiety and depression in a sample consisting of (32) female students, whose ages ranged between (12-14) years, from children of mothers with various chronic diseases, randomly divided into Two groups: The experimental group whose members received a counseling program based on the CBT approach, and the control group whose members did not receive any counseling program. The results of the analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in the post-test between the experimental and control groups of children on the two measures of anxiety and depression, as the level of anxiety and depression decreased to a higher degree among the experimental group members compared to the control group.
The study of Al-Hor (2016) aimed to reveal the extent of the effectiveness of an Islamic counseling program in reducing symptoms of psychological depression among reluctant patients who follow the Al-Wusta Center for Mental Health. The sample of the study consisted of (28) patients who were divided into two groups, the first experimental number of (14) patients. The second was a control and consisted of (14) male and female patients, who were selected from among (120) patients from the actual sample from the Al Wusta Center for Mental Health who obtained the highest scores on the Beck scale for depression, and the researcher used the extended Beck scale for depression, and an Islamic psychological counseling program from Preparation of the researcher, and the researcher used the quasiexperimental approach using two equal experimental and control groups, and the study concluded that there were statistically significant differences between the pre-test scores and the post-test scores in psychological depression among the members of the experimental group.
Khurshid, Parveen, Yousuf & Chaudhry (2015) conducted a study that aimed to find out the effects of depression on students 'academic performance. The study used the descriptive approach, and the questionnaire was the main tool for gathering information. The study sample consisted of (700) male and female students. The results concluded that there is a negative effect of depression on the student's academic performance.
Naushad, Farooqui, Sharma, Rani, Singh & Verma, (2014) also conducted a study aimed at studying the determinants of depression and symptoms that determine the occurrence of depression among college students in Mangalore. The study used the descriptive approach, and applied the questionnaire as a tool to collect information, a sample was formed. The study consisted of (308) male and female students, and the results concluded that the determinants of depression and symptoms that indicate depression in the student are mood, pessimism, feeling of failure, dissatisfaction with self, guilt, self-hatred and blame, insomnia, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, physical preoccupation, and loss of sexual desire.

Commenting on Previous Studies
Previous studies have varied in dealing with depression in students, in the study of Aladdin and Alhayh (2017). It examined the effect of a group counseling program on reducing anxiety and depression, and in the study of Al-Hor (2016), it examined the effectiveness of an Islamic psychological counseling program in reducing symptoms of psychological depression among patients at Al Wusta Center for Mental Health, while in the study of Khurshid, Parveen, Yousuf & Chaudhry (2015) it dealt with knowing the effects of depression on students' academic performance, and a study Naushad, Farooqui, Sharma, Rani, Singh & Verma, (2014) dealt with knowing the determinants of depression and the symptoms that determine the student's depression.

Methodology
The Limits of the Study 1. Objective limits: a religious counseling program according to Albert Ellis' theory and its effect on depression for Syrian students.
2. Spatial limits: the city of the Kasbah of Karak, Jordan. 3. Temporal limits: Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan in the 2019/2020 academic year.

Study Approach
The current study followed the quasi-experimental approach, which is based on the random assignment of study individuals into two groups: one of them is a control who does not receive the counseling program, and the other is an experimental one to which the counseling program is applied, and pre-and post-tests of depression were made for both groups, and the follow-up was measured for the experimental group only.

Study Population
The study population consisted of students from Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan, during the year 2019/2020.

The Study Sample
The sample was chosen randomly for Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan, where the study sample consisted of (60) students, and they were divided into two groups, the experimental group, which numbered (30) students, and the control group, which numbered (30) students.

Study Tools
1. Depression Scale: The Depression Scale was developed through the (Beck) Depression List.
The validity indicators of the scale were verified in two ways, as follows 1. Validity of the content: The scale was presented to (10) arbitrators who are members of the teaching staff in Jordanian universities, who are specialists in psychological counseling and psychology, to express their observations regarding the validity of the paragraphs to measure what they have been measured, and with regard to their formulation and suitability to the environment, and a consensus of 80% or more from the arbitrators was adopted on the validity of the paragraph to be included in the scale and their comments will be taken into account in terms of deletion and modification.

Validity of construction:
The construct validity of the depression scale was extracted by applying it to an exploratory sample of Syrian students from outside the study sample. Correlation coefficients were found for each paragraph with the total score of the depression scale.
Depression Scale Stability: Stability indicators were found by retesting by applying them to an exploratory sample of Syrian students from outside the study sample with an interval of two weeks, and (Cronbach's Alpha) coefficients were found for the scale, and tables (2) and (3) illustrate this.  Table (2) shows that the Cronbach alpha values of the depression scale for the experimental group were at 92%, which is a high value suitable for scientific research purposes. Table (3) Cronbach's alpha coefficient to measure the reliability of depression scale for the control group The scale The Number of paragraphs Cronbach Alpha Depression 72 85% Table (3) shows that the Cronbach alpha values of the depression scale for the control group were at 85%, which is a high value suitable for scientific research purposes.
1. Correcting the depression scale: the scale consisted in its final form of (72) paragraphs, and the response to each paragraph of the scale was graduated on a scale of quadruple answers (agree with a large degree, agree with a medium degree, agree with a degree weakly, disagree), depending on the applicability of the content of the paragraph On the student, and the scale of answers can be transformed into degrees, the answer takes a large degree of agreement (four degrees), agree with a medium degree (three degrees), agree with a weak degree (two degrees), and disagree (one degree).

The counseling program:
The researcher has prepared a religious counseling program that is based on a set of foundations and principles in this regard for the process of counseling and psychological counseling, and it is a group of organized counseling methods and techniques that are based on general, religious, philosophical, educational, social and ethical foundations, according to Albert Ellis theory, Such as modeling, role-playing, dialogue, discussion, and reflection, which are offered to Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan, whose number is (16) sessions within a maximum period of (6) weeks with two sessions per week, the duration of the session is (60) minute with the aim of reducing their psychological alienation, and to help them overcome crises and psychological pressures.

Validation of the indicative program:
To verify the validity and suitability of the program, it will be presented to (10) arbitrators from the faculty of Jordanian universities who are specialists in psychological counseling and psychology to judge its suitability in achieving the purpose for which it was built, and any proposals they deem appropriate, and the comments of the arbitrators will be taken into account. . "26.7%", and it appears from the above table that the "average" category in the variable of the economic and social level has obtained (16) samples from the total sample of "30" samples, meaning "53.3%". The "high" category got "6" samples, meaning "20%", as it appears from the table above that the "College" category in the parent's educational level variable had obtained (18) samples from the total sample of "30" samples, meaning a percentage. 60%, while the category of "postgraduate" on "0" sample, meaning "0%", and it appears from the table above that the category of "father and mother" in a variable with whom the student lives has obtained (19) samples from the total sample of "30" samples, that is, "63.3%" While the "one relative" group got a "2" sample, "6.7%".

Descriptive Statistical Analysis of Data
Results related to the hypothesis: According to Albert Ellis, a religious counseling program is not effective and its effect in treating depression among Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, Jordan?
To answer this question, the assumption of the normal distribution of responses of the respondents of the study sample to the scale of depression was first verified, using the Shapiro-Wilk test, and Table (5) shows that.  (5) that the value of the significance level is higher than (0.05) for the experimental group for the depression scale and the overall score. This indicates that the responses of the study individuals follow the normal distribution. Therefore, this test was used.
The arithmetic means, standard deviations, modified averages and standard error of the post-test were extracted for the experimental and control groups on the depression scale, and Table (6) shows these averages:  (6) that the modified average of the depression measure for the performance of the experimental group members reached (2,315), and the adjusted average for the control group members was (3,415) on the post-test. To ensure the statistical significance of these differences, the accompanying mono-analysis of variance was performed on the averages of the two groups, and Table (7) shows the results of the analysis.  (7) that there are significant differences at the level of (0.05) between the averages of the experimental and control groups in the post test on the scale of depression, and by looking at the averages of Table (7), it is clear that the modified arithmetic mean of the experimental group on the scale of depression is less than the average of the control group.
The value of F reached (241.208) and the significance level value (0.000), and this difference is due to the effectiveness of the religious counseling program in relieving depression, and the effect size value was (0.933) for the depression scale between the control and experimental groups, which is a high value indicating the effectiveness of the counseling program for relieving depression.
Discussion of the results related to the hypothesis: There is no effectiveness of a religious counseling program according to Albert Ellis' theory and its effect in treating depression among Syrian students in the schools of the Kasbah of Karak, Jordan.
Examination of the second theory shows the effectiveness of a religious counseling program according to the theory of Albert Ellis on depression among Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools, and this is attributed to the effectiveness of the religious counseling program according to the theory of Albert Ellis in reducing depression among female students, as asylum has negatively affected the health of Syrian students. And the fact that they have feelings of sadness, despair and depression, and it has been shown through the current result that the level of depression among Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools has clearly decreased, and their feelings of constant sadness and despair and their indifference to life have clearly decreased, and they have positive feelings, motivation and interest. Bigger on life. Here, the study of Al-Hor (2016) confirmed the existence of statistically significant differences between the degrees of pre-measurement and post-measurement scores in psychological depression among members of the experimental group.

Second: Recommendations
Based on the results of the study, the researcher recommends the following: 1. The necessity for counselors to conduct counseling programs for treating depression among Syrian students at Karak Qasabeh's schools.
2. The necessity of using religious counseling because of its importance in the students 'exit from the material state of the spiritual state that contributes to achieving meaning and value for their actions.
3. Holding seminars and conferences inside the school in order to familiarize students with depression and its effects on mental health.