The impact of positive group counseling on college students’ emotional state in the postpandemic era

Using positive psychology theory, we designed a structured 6-week group counseling intervention for 30 college students, comparing experimental and control groups in terms of their pretest and posttest scores on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Positive affect and negative affect scores were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Results showed statistically significant differences between the groups at posttest. The experimental group showed significantly higher positive affect scores and significantly lower negative affect scores postintervention, with these effects persisting 1 month after the completion of group counseling. There were no statistically significant differences in the control group’s pretest and posttest scores for either positive or negative affect. These findings suggest that in the postpandemic era, group counseling grounded in positive psychology can have a positive impact on college students’ emotional state.