TITLE:
Promoting Well-Being and Psychological Thriving in University Students: A Gestalt-Mindfulness-Based Personal Development Counseling Intervention
AUTHORS:
Angeliki Kyvelou, Georgios Tsitsas
KEYWORDS:
Mindfulness, Counselling Group, Emotional Intelligence, Stress, College Students
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.14 No.12,
December
25,
2023
ABSTRACT: The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a
Gestalt-based “personal development” counseling group could have positive
effects on psychological prosperity. The intervention group aimed to increase
the participants’ level of awareness. The program consisted of 10 sessions and
employed mindfulness practice as a gestalt experiment. The study involved 208
undergraduate students, aged 18 to 22 years, using a pretest-posttest control
group design. One hundred forty-eight (148) participants participated in the
intervention program, while sixty (60) of
them formed the control group. The Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS 21),
Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), and Emotional Intelligence Scale
(WLEIS) were used to assess students’ well-being. The pretest-posttest scores
of the intervention group showed statistically significant differences, while
the pretest-posttest results of the control group showed no statistically
significant changes. The results showed that the Gestalt-based mindfulness
intervention aimed to improve awareness levels, increase the participants’
emotional intelligence, decrease depression, anxiety, and stress, and
promote their well-being. Moreover, these results could help support students’
academic lives through counseling group interventions.