Mandala Therapy in Nurses: Effects on Psychological Well-Being and Organizational Cynicism

Nursing is a profession characterized by high emotional labor, intensive workload, and continuous occupational stress, which may negatively affect psychological well-being and contribute to negative organizational attitudes such as organizational cynicism. Supporting nurses' psychological well-being is therefore essential for sustaining professional functioning and quality of care. Mandala therapy is an art-based behavioral intervention that provides individuals with a space for free expression through unstructured drawing and coloring activities. Unstructured mandala practices allow participants to express their inner experiences without predetermined guidance, supporting emotional awareness and self-regulation. This experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effect of unstructured mandala therapy on nurses' psychological well-being and organizational cynicism levels. The study was carried out with nurses working in a public training and research hospital. Participants were allocated to an intervention group receiving unstructured mandala therapy and a control group receiving routine working conditions. Mandala therapy sessions were conducted in small groups over a defined period, based on a free-expression approach. Psychological well-being and organizational cynicism levels were assessed at baseline and after the intervention using standardized and validated measurement tools. Ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The study was retrospectively registered.