This study investigated the factors necessary for the reduction of depression required by college students that they demand, and it was to develop a group counseling program based on motivational interviewing and existential psychotherapy to lower dep...
This study investigated the factors necessary for the reduction of depression required by college students that they demand, and it was to develop a group counseling program based on motivational interviewing and existential psychotherapy to lower depression and enhance the meaning of life according to the developmental characteristics of college students and to verify the effectiveness. For this purpose, the program was developed in 8 sessions, 90 minutes in a session, according to the program development model procedure of Kim et al. (2011), and the effects of the program were verified through quantitative analysis and the results of the quantitative analysis were supplemented by analysis of subjective experiences. The study participants were 23 college students in P city, 11 to the experimental group, and 12 to the control group. In the experimental group, a motivational existential psychotherapy program was conducted for 90 minutes per session, twice a week, for a total of 8 sessions, and the control group was a no-treatment group. Depression and meaning in life for the experimental group and the control group were measured before and after the program and one month after the end of the program. The results of this study are as follows.
First, the depression was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group in the post-mortem, and this effect had continued one month later. Second, the meaning in life was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group in the post-mortem, and this effect continued one month late
r. Presence of meaning and search for meaning, which are sub-factors of the meaning in life, were also significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group in the post-mortem, and these effects had continued one month later. Third, as a result of analyzing the subjective experiences of the participants, the participants were helped through the program, such as 'changing of negative view of depression, a decreasing of anxiety and helplessness, understanding of oneself and others, understanding and regulating emotion, and solidifying the goal of life.
Based on the results of this study, MI-ET group counseling program developed in this study has a significant effect on lowering the depression of college students and improving the meaning in life.
Finally, the theoretical implications for the development and effectiveness verification of the MI-ET group counseling program were discussed, and suggestions were made for further research.