Sand tray therapy for reducing post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) and enhancing well-being in children and adolescents

  • Putu Ari Dharmayanti 
    Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
    Indonesia
  • Kadek Suranata
    Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
    Indonesia
  • Kade Sathya Gita Rismawan
    Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
    Indonesia
  • Wayan Eka Paramartha
    Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
    Indonesia
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9942-5492
  • Abu Yazid Abu Bakar
    Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
    Malaysia
  • Saleh Amat
    Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
    Malaysia

Abstract

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health issues that is commonly experienced by children and adolescents as a result of traumatic events such as natural disasters, social conflicts, and violence. The high prevalence of PTSD among children and adolescents requires further intervention due to the risk of long-term psychological impacts. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sand Tray Therapy in reducing PTSD symptoms and improving well-being in children and adolescents. The study uses an A-B-A-B experimental design, which is a variation of the single subject design (SSD), involving five subjects who were selected through a screening process and considered as representative of a population with PTSD and low psychological well-being. The research instruments used are the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB). Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test to compare PTSD and well-being scores between phases, and Cohen's d was used to measure the effect size of changes between phases. The results of this study indicate that sand tray therapy has a clinically significant positive effect in reducing PTSD symptoms and improving psychological well-being. Thus, this method can be considered an alternative psychological intervention for children and adolescents who suffer from PTSD and require an improvement in psychological well-being.

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