The Effectiveness of Writing Therapy and the POS-JARI Method in Reducing Anxiety among Students at SMPN 1 Kromengan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55927/jpp.v5i3.29Keywords:
Anxiety, Expressive Writing Therapy, Five-Finger Hypnosis, Educational Poster, AdolescentAbstract
Anxiety is a common mental health problem among adolescents that may impair learning concentration and academic performance. A 2025 mental health screening at SMPN 1 Kromengan found a 15.43% prevalence of anxiety among eighth-grade students. This community service activity aimed to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of Expressive Writing Therapy and the “POS-JARI” method (educational poster and five-finger hypnosis) in reducing students' anxiety levels. The target participants were 70 eighth-grade students identified as experiencing anxiety based on a pretest using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), divided into a Writing Therapy group (35 students) and a POS-JARI group (35 students). Writing Therapy was conducted for three consecutive days, while POS-JARI was delivered once through poster education and five-finger hypnosis relaxation. The Independent Samples T-Test on the gain scores showed a significant difference in effectiveness (p=0.000), with the mean anxiety-score reduction in the Writing Therapy group (11.11) far exceeding that of the POS-JARI group (1.43). It is concluded that Writing Therapy is more effective than the POS-FINGER method in reducing anxiety levels among eighth-grade students, and can be considered a simple and sustainable self-coping strategy in the school setting.
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