A Qualitative Study Of Contemporary Youth’s "Healing" Psychological Experience

In recent years,“healing” has formed an upsurge in the internet and literary markets.In order to explore what the “healing” psychological experience is and why contemporary youths need “healing”so much,this study adopted qualitative research to conduct semi-structured interviews with 15 young people who have had “healing” experience,mainly focusing on those questions: “What things in life make you feel ‘healing ’”,“Describe one or more of your own ‘healing’ experience in detail”,“What kind of ‘healing’ needs we have and why”.It used generic analysis to interpret the characteristics and functions of the psychological experience of “healing”,summarized the elements of “healing”,and explored young people’s needs and reasons for “healing”;used contextual analysis to show the development and changes of the interviewee’s psychological state during the “healing” experience,and further explored the mechanism of the “healing” psychological experience.The results showed that: First,“healing” is to use external things to make the individuals’ inner heart get a process of relaxation,positive mood or emotional transformation and reflection.It’s personal,highly accepted and has a wide range of applications.It is a psychological self-help method commonly used by young people.Second,the elements that make young people feel “healing” can be divided into five categories: animals,ideal lifestyles,human interaction,natural environment,and cultural products of healing.Third,the meaning and functions of “healing” psychological experience include emotional regulation,providing emotional support,assisting cognitive regulation,stimulating motivation and relieving fatigue,but its functional effects are limited and vary from person to person.Fourth,young people’s “healing” needs include emotional regulation,making up emotions,cognitive development,and a yearning for better life.These “healing” needs come from the individuals’ internal psychological characteristics on the one hand,and on the other hand is the certain social environment background.Fifth,the individuals’ psychological and behavioral state is changing with the process of“healing” psychological experience,gradually becoming a positive,stable,and balanced state,and cognition also gradually becoming self-consistent.Sixth,the interviewees’ views on the preferences,needs and functions of “healing” elements have some differences in demographic variables such as gender and social roles.The attraction of “healing” elements to individuals is often spontaneous and relatively easy to obtain.The psychological experience of “healing” has a positive meaning in assisting young people in their daily mental self-help,it also has certain psychological comfort and positive guidance.