Comparison of the psychological effects of group Dohsa-hou in face-to-face and online sessions as self-care for young adults

ABSTRACT

Dohsa-hou therapists usually assist clients through physical contact but physical contact is not advisable during the coronavirus pandemic. We explored a non-contact form of self-care Dohsa-hou that clients could conduct by themselves with the aid of therapists' instruction, advice, and feedback. In this study, we created two groups of young adults for a single 60-minute session a face-to-face Dohsa-hou group (N = 28) and an online Dohsa-hou group (N = 17) via a video platform. We compared the effects of stress reactions, the sense of mind-body harmony, and authenticity. The results indicated that both methods were equally effective in reducing stress reactions and in increasing the sense of mind-body harmony and authenticity. The online group showed larger effect sizes in the sense of physical stability and authenticity compared with the face-to-face group. These effects were obtained by using visual information and deepening immersions in the online Dohsa-hou group. Self-care Dohsa-hou would be useful for young adults because they could engage in Dohsa tasks without the therapist's physical assistance and maintain a healthy mind-body harmony. © 2022 Japanese Psychological Association. All rights reserved.