Structured group sandplay to improve the resilience of college students: A pilot study

This study explored the effect of structured group sandplay method (SGSM) on the resilience of Chinese college students. The subjects were 19 first year university students, selected from a local public university in China. These students were individuals with a typically low level of psychological resilience. A mixed quantitative-qualitative, process-outcome research methodology was used. An experimental control group pretest/posttest design was implemented, with eight intervention sessions given to the experimental group, within which six sessions were SGSM, while qualitative data was collected during the intervention process. Multiple assessments—Ego-resilience scale (ERS), University Personality Inventory (UPI), Sandplay Test of Resilience (STR), and text analysis—were used to measure the effect of SGSM. Statistical analyses of pre- and posttests of ERS, UPI, and STR all showed a positive effect. Moreover, a design of introspection on the main components of resilience contained in SGSM was used to explain and elaborate the mechanisms of SGSM.