Author(s)

Chang Liu ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100080, China

Corresponding Author

Chang Liu

ABSTRACT

This study used a randomized controlled trial design to assess the intervention effects of sandplay therapy on stress management and psychological symptom improvement in college students. College students with significant stress problems were recruited and randomly assigned to an experimental group (sandplay intervention) and a control group (conventional stress management education). The experimental group received a 6-week sandplay therapy session of 90 minutes twice a week; the control group participated in a standardised stress management course.The main assessment indicators used in this study included the Chinese Perceived Stress Scales (CPSS-10), the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and the self-compiled questionnaire for evaluating the intervention mechanism of sandplay therapy. The results showed that the experimental group had significantly better improvement in stress perception and psychological symptoms than the control group. Mechanism analysis showed that the experimental group was better than the control group in terms of symbolic expression efficacy and self-integration. Effect size analysis further supported the potential of sand play therapy in emotion regulation and internalization of stress coping strategies. These results indicate that sand play therapy has a significant intervention effect in relieving stress, improving mental health and promoting emotional integration among college students.

KEYWORDS

Sandplay Therapy, Stress Management, College Students, Mental Health

CITE THIS PAPER

Chang Liu, Sandplay Therapy for Stress Management in College Students: A Randomized Controlled Experiment. Applied & Educational Psychology (2025) Vol. 6: 147-154. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/appep.2025.060121.

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