Research on Companion-Based Forest Therapy and Its Physiological and Psychological Benefits to College Students

Mei He, Yuan Hu (), Xuan Dong, Jiarui Ma and Guangyu Wang ()
Additional contact information
Mei He: Multidisciplinary Institute of Nature Therapy, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Yuan Hu: Jiangxi Academy of Forestry, 1629 Fenglin Road, Nanchang 330032, China
Xuan Dong: Multidisciplinary Institute of Nature Therapy, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Jiarui Ma: Multidisciplinary Institute of Nature Therapy, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Guangyu Wang: Multidisciplinary Institute of Nature Therapy, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: With the growing pressures of modern society, physical and mental health issues have emerged as critical global concerns. Forest therapy (FT), a novel health management model that integrates natural environments with physical and mental healing, has gained increasing attention in recent years. However, mainstream FT approaches often overlook the psychological value of interpersonal interaction. Building upon traditional FT, this study proposes a new framework called companionship-based forest therapy (CBFT), which emphasizes the importance of emotional support within natural settings. CBFT is not intended as a replacement for conventional FT, but rather as an optimized approach that enhances its therapeutic effects by incorporating the element of companionship. This study aims to evaluate the physiological and psychological benefits of a novel intervention model—companion-based forest therapy (CBFT)—compared to conventional forest therapy models. Grounded in psychological theories and supported by empirical analysis, this study presents an applied framework of CBFT grounded in established psychological theories and validates its effectiveness through a comparative intervention involving 30 college students. Interpreted from the perspectives of ecological and humanistic psychology, the results indicate that CBFT significantly improves emotional regulation, reduces physiological stress responses, and enhances overall mental well-being. These findings highlight the value of social connection in FT practices and offer new directions for the development and application of forest therapy.

Keywords: emotional support; forest therapy; psychological resilience; social interaction; health management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/7/1026/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/7/1026/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:7:p:1026-:d:1689459

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().