EFFECTIVENESS OF ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY TO ENHANCE STUDENTS' WELLNESS

Wellness is believed to be a precondition for students' success in university. Therefore, many higher education institutions are committed to enhancing student wellness through psychoeducation and counselling program. The present study aimed to test the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in enhancing the level of wellness among first-year university students. An experimental study was conducted over six months by implementing a pre-post control group design to measure the benefits of ACT for first-year university students. Exactly 58 students voluntarily participated in serial group counselling, with participants distributed equally between the experimental and control groups. The Five Factor Wellness Inventory, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire were used as measurement tools. Six core ACT processes were applied over 10 treatment sessions. Comparison of the statistical results for pre- and post-test showed that the wellness score of experimental group was higher than control groups (F=1325.559; p<0.005). This study asserts that ACT is a feasible and practical way to enhance students' wellness.