Examination of the effect of "sandplay activity" on anxiety and well-being in patients in a psychiatric clinic

Objective: This research was conducted to examine the effect of sandplay activity on anxiety and well-being in patients in psychiatric clinics. Method: The research was carried out in Isparta Süleyman Demirel University Psychiatric Clinic as a single-blind randomized controlled experimental study in the pre-test, final-test order between 2020-2021. Ethical permission was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee and application permission from the institution for pre-research. 63 patients (intervention-32 and control-31) selected by block randomization method formed the universe of the study. No intervention was applied to the control group. A preliminary test and a final test were performed two days apart, one hour apart on the first and fourth days. Two sessions of sandplay activity were applied to the intervention group with a decongest of two days, and each session was pre-tested. The data was collected using "The Personal Information Form", "The Spielberger Status Anxiety" inventory, and "Well-Being Star Scale" and also data showed normal distribution. In statistical analysis, T-Test, Chi-Square Test, Pearson correlation test was used dependent and independent groups. Results: In the intergroup comparison of the state anxiety and wellbeing mean scores of the patients in the intervention and control groups, the first and second session posttest anxiety mean scores of the intervention group were found to be lower and higher well-being mean scores than the pretest mean scores of the control group (p<0.05). A moderate and negative relationship was found between the anxiety and well-being scores of the intervention and control groups. Conclusion: The sandplay activity applied is effective in reducing the level of anxiety and increasing the well-being of patients hospitalized in the psychiatry clinic. It is recommended the use of sandplay activities in a clinical setting, the conduct randomized controlled trials with different psychiatric environments. Keywords: anxiety, psychiatric nursing, sandplay, well-being.