Introduction
depression, Depression, depressive, anxiety
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global population has suffered from various mental health problems, and long-term consequences are prevalent. During the pandemic, more than half of the general population was affected by the COVID-19 outbreak at a moderate-to-severe level, and the global prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in the general population was 28%, 35%, and 53%, respectivelyNature-based therapy (NBT), also known as nature-assisted therapy, natural therapy, or green care, is an intervention based on experiences and activities in a natural setting specifically designed to improve human mental and physical healthThe definition of psychological distress varies across research fields, but in general, psychological distress refers to maladaptive psychological functioning in response to stressful and challenging life eventsStudies conducted in South Korea consistently highlight the positive impact of NBT on psychological distress and well-being. The results of a domestic meta-analysis on horticultural therapy demonstrated moderate to large effect sizes in the social, emotional, and physical domainsAlthough NBT is regarded as an effective psychosocial therapeutic intervention, reviews and meta-analyses have pointed out the low quality of existing studies in terms of experimental design or analytical methodsPsychological distress and well-being variables also seem to impact each other; in a study of walking therapy in nature for depression, positive mental health at the end of the intervention mediated the decrease in depressive symptomsIn psychosocial intervention, the therapeutic alliance is considered an important factor for successful treatment. A therapeutic alliance generally refers to the positive and collaborative relationship between a therapist and client (or patient). Therapeutic alliances are regarded as an important aspect of both individual and group psychological treatmentsTherefore, the present study has three objectives. First, we investigated the effects of nature-based therapy on the psychological distress and well-being of general public during the COVID-19 pandemic using a moderate sample and validated measures. We hypothesized that the psychological distress and well-being of participants in the therapeutic gardening program would significantly improve compared with those of the control group. Depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness, which were prevalent negative emotional responses during the Covid-19 period