This study aimed to investigate the effects of a two-day forest therapy program on individuals with chronic widespread pain. Sixty one employees of a public organization providing building and facilities management services within the Seoul Metropolitan area participated in the study. Participants were assigned to an experimental group (n = 33) who participated in a forest therapy program or a control group (n = 28) on a non-random basis. Pre- and post-measures of heart rate variability (HRV), Natural Killer cell (NK cell) activity, self-reported pain using the visual analog scale (VAS), depression level using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and health-related quality of life measures using the EuroQol Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS) were collected in both groups. The results showed that participants in the forest therapy group, as compared to the control group, showed physiological improvement as indicated by a significant increase in some measures of HRV and an increase in immune competence as indicated by NK cell activity. Participants in the forest therapy group also reported significant decreases in pain and depression, and a significant improvement in health-related quality of life. These results support the hypothesis that forest therapy is an effective intervention to relieve pain and associated psychological and physiological symptoms in individuals with chronic widespread pain.

This study explored the effectiveness of a virtual music therapy program, based on positive psychotherapy principles, in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-four undergraduate students with partial PTSD were initially assigned to either an experimental group or a control group, with 11 participants in each group by the study’s end. The experimental group underwent 15 video sessions of the therapy program, completing one session per weekday over 3 weeks. The program involved worksheets targeting goals aligned with positive psychology, such as positive affect, life meaning, personal strengths, gratitude, hope, and happiness. The activities included writing music autobiographies, creating and analyzing song lyrics, and exploring various music pieces. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Korean Version of Positive Psychological Capital (K-PPC) before, immediately after, and 3 weeks post-program. The experimental group showed significant improvements in stress (F = 5.759, p < 0.05), anxiety (F = 4.790, p < 0.01), depression (F = 5.740, p < 0.01), self-efficacy (F = 3.723, p < 0.05), resilience (F = 4.739, p < 0.05), and the K-PPC total score (F = 3.740, p < 0.05) compared with the control group. These improvements were maintained at the 3-week follow-up. The findings suggest that positive psychology-based virtual music therapy can significantly enhance the mental health of highly stressed college students, especially during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study explored the effectiveness of a virtual music therapy program, based on positive psychotherapy principles, for college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-four undergraduate students with partial PTSD were initially assigned to either an experimental group or a control group, with 11 participants in each group by the study's end. The experimental group underwent 15 video sessions of the therapy program, completing one session per weekday over three weeks. The program involved worksheets targeting goals aligned with positive psychology, such as positive affect, life meaning, personal strengths, gratitude, hope, and happiness. Activities included writing music autobiographies, creating and analyzing song lyrics, and exploring various music pieces. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Korean Version of Positive Psychological Capital (K-PPC) before, immediately after, and three weeks post-program. The experimental group showed significant improvements in stress, anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, resilience, and the K-PPC total score compared to the control group. These improvements were maintained at the three-week follow-up. The findings suggest that positive psychology-based virtual music therapy can significantly enhance the mental health of highly stressed college students, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic.