Clinical trial · Interventional
Measuring the Effectiveness of Forest Therapy to Alleviate Stress Among International Students
Forest Therapy for International Students
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
International students often face high levels of stress, leading to mental health conditions, from factors including cultural and social change, educational system, financial insecurity and family responsibilities. Barriers in seeking support for mental health include stigmatisation and high costs. Single psychotherapy sessions are often unaffordable and pharmaceuticals are often associated with adverse side effects having limited efficacy. Hence, alternative approaches and therapies are needed to manage students' wellbeing. Forest Therapy offers a low-risk lifestyle activity, which is beneficial to physical and mental health through nature exposure and increased social connection. Thus, this research project aims to investigate to which degree guided Forest Therapy sessions may help to prevent or alleviate stress among international students in Victoria. Free Forest Therapy sessions will be offered to international students at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne which is centrally located and can easily be reached by foot, car, bike or Public transport. The sessions will be offered at different dates/times during August, September and October 2024. Next to participating in the guided Forest Therapy sessions, brief surveys will be administered before and after each session which are optional.
Conditions
Conditions (8)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Anxiety Depression (Mild or Not Persistent) | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Lack of Physical Activity | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Sleep Deprivation | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Stress | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Stress Disorders | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Stress, Psychological | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| standardized Forest Therapy session (120 min) | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- 2-hrs standardized Forest Therapy session
- description
- the intervention follows the strict protocol (script) of the INFTA Forest Therapy Guiding Sequence
- interventionNames
- Other: standardized Forest Therapy session (120 min)
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Profile of Mood States (POMS)
- timeFrame
- 120 min (duration of standardized Forest Therapy session)
- description
- pre/post test using psychometric instrument (POMS-16 for adults); 16 items, 5-point Likert-type scale; measuring self-reported levels of stress, anxiety and vigour
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * All international students currently studying, planning to study of having completed their studies at a university in Victoria (Melbourne or regional) are eligible and invited to participate. Exclusion Criteria: * All domestic (Australian) students currently studying, planning to study of having completed their studies at a university in Victoria (Melbourne or regional). Participation in this research project is voluntary.
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available