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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Personality and Social Psychology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1649129

Effectiveness of Metaverse-Based Family Sculpture and Meditation in Reducing Psychological Distress

Provisionally accepted
Sang Hyun  YooSang Hyun Yoo*Eun-Jin  ChoiEun-Jin ChoiHong-Sik  YangHong-Sik Yang
  • EZNWellness, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The metaverse has demonstrated notable effectiveness in psychotherapeutic treatments. This study investigates the efficacy of a metaverse-based family sculpture technique in reducing psychological stress, anxiety, and depression.Traditional family sculpture methods, known for their ability to identify and address familial relationship dynamics, were adapted to a metaverse environment, facilitating immersive, nonphysical therapeutic interactions. Participants (n = 79) were divided into family sculpture, meditation, combined meditation and family sculpture, no-intervention, and placebo groups engaging in a wish lantern activity. Standardized tools (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Perceived Stress Scale) measured psychological outcomes, followed by pre-and post-intervention assessments.The combined meditation and family sculpture group exhibited the most significant reductions across all measures, demonstrating a synergistic effect between the two techniques. The family sculpture group effectively reduced anxiety, whereas the meditation group significantly decreased stress and depression. Satisfaction levels were the highest in the combined meditation and family sculpture group, reflecting participants' positive perceptions of emotional stabilization and the usability of metaverse technology.Discussion: Metaverse-based interventions can expand access to psychotherapy, offering a novel and engaging platform for therapeutic innovation. Future research should explore larger sample sizes, extended intervention durations, and technical refinements to validate the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of these digital psychotherapeutic approaches.

Keywords: meta-counseling, Anxiety, Therapeutic intervention, psychological distress, digital psychotherapy

Received: 18 Jun 2025; Accepted: 31 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Yoo, Choi and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Sang Hyun Yoo, EZNWellness, Seoul, Republic of Korea

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