The Process of an Innovative Approach to Counseling: Appreciation of Beauty Group Therapy (ABGP)
Naoaki Takeda （ The Healing Collective, USA ）
Rhett Diessner （ Lewis-Clark State College, USA and Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education, Iran ）
https://doi.org/10.37155/2972-3086-0501-2Abstract
This article describes a new and creative form of group therapy: Appreciation of Beauty Group Therapy (ABGT). The process of ABGT demonstrates its potential benefits through the application of aesthetic interventions in mental health treatment settings. Prior research indicates that aesthetic experiences can improve symptoms of mental health issues such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The article describes the lead author’s experience of designing and delivering group therapy with a focus on appreciation of beauty, with mindfulness exercises, to assist individuals with a wide variety of mental health diagnoses.
Keywords
Appreciation of beauty; Mindfulness; Natural beauty; Artistic beauty; Moral beauty; Beautiful ideasFull Text
PDFReferences
[1].Bettmann, J. E., Speelman, E., Jolley, A., & Casucci, T. (2025). A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of nature exposure dose on adults with mental illness. Behavioral Sciences, 15(2), 153. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020153
[2].Craig, L, A., Monroy, M, & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe in nature heals: evidence from military veterans, at risk youth, and college students. Emotion, 18 (8), 1195-202. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000442
[3].Cummings, J. R., Wen, H., Ko, M., & Druss, B. G. (2013). Geography and the Medicaid mental health care infrastructure: Implications for health care reform. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(10), 1084–1090. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.377
[4].Danto, A. C. (2003). The abuse of beauty: Aesthetics and the concept of art. Open Court.
[5].Diessner, R. (2019). Understanding the beauty appreciation traits: Empirical research on seeking beauty in all things. Palgrave Macmillan.
[6].Diessner, R., Iyer, R., Smith, M., & Haidt, J. (2013). Who engages with moral beauty? Journal of Moral Education, 42(2), 139-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2013.785941
[7].Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
[8].Freud, S. (1914). On Narcissism: An Introduction. The Standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIV (1914-1916): On the History of the Psycho-Analytic Movement, Papers on Metapsychology and Other Works, 67-102.
[9].Fromm, E. (2006). The art of loving. Harper Perennial Modern Classics. (Original work published 1956).
[10].Goldberg, S. B., Tucker, R. P., Greene, P. A., Davidson, R. J., Wampold, B. E., Kearney, D. J., & Simpson, T. L. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 59, 52–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.10.011
[11].Haidt, J. (2003). Elevation and the positive psychology of morality. In C. L. M. Keyes & J. Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived (pp. 275–289). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10594-012
[12].Hansen, M. M., Jones, R., & Tocchini, K. (2017). Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and nature
[13].therapy: A state-of-the-art review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(8), 851. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080851
[14].Ishizu, T., & Zeki, S. (2017). The experience of beauty derived from sorrow. Human Brain Mapping, 38(8), 4185–4200. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23657
[15].Keltner, D. (2023). Awe: The new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life. Penguin.
[16].Mattheiss, S., Zabihian, S., Diessner, R. (2025). Moral beauty, natural beauty, and artistic beauty cause self-transcendent emotions. Journal of Moral Education, 1-19 (online). https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2025.2588303
[17].Nitzan, A., & Orkibi, H. (2021). "We're All in the Same Boat" - The experience of people with mental health conditions and non-clinical community members in integrated arts-based groups. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 661831. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661831
[18].Masuda, A., & Tully, E. C. (2011). The role of mindfulness and psychological flexibility in somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress in a nonclinical college sample. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 17(1), 66–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587211423400
[19].Palouse Mindfulness. (n.d.). Mountain meditation [PDF]. https://palousemindfulness.com/docs/mountain-meditation.pdf
[20].Pohling, R., & Diessner, R. (2016). Moral elevation and moral beauty: A review of the empirical literature. Review of General Psychology, 20, 412–425. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000089
[21].Plato. (1989). The symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett.
[22].Schoeller, F., Jain, A., Adrien, V., Maes, P., & Reggente, N. (2024). Aesthetic chills mitigate maladaptive cognition in depression. BMC Psychiatry, 24(1), Article #40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05476-3
[23].Russell, B. (1930). The conquest of happiness. H. Liveright.
[24].Trupp, M. D., Howlin, C., Fekete, A., Kutsche, J., Fingerhut, J., & Pelowski, M. (2025). The impact of viewing art on well-being—a systematic review of the evidence base and suggested mechanisms. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 20(6), 978–1002. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2025.2481041
[25].U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). What’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? https://www.hhs.gov/answers/medicare-and-medicaid/what-is-the-difference-between-medicare-medicaid/index.html
[26].Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. University of Chicago Press.
[27].Victor, S. E., Devendorf, A. R., Lewis, S. P., Rottenberg, J., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Stage, D. L., & Miller, R. H. (2022). Only human: Mental-Health difficulties among clinical, counseling, and school psychology faculty and trainees. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(6), 1576–1590. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211071079
[28].Wilczek, F. (2015). A beautiful question: Finding nature’s deep design. Penguin.
[29].Wilkinson, D. (2022). Wabi-sabi: a virtue of imperfection. Journal of Medical Ethics, 48(11), 937–938. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2021-108074
[30].World Health Organization. (2024). WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/WHO-UCN-MSD-MHE-2024.01
[31].Yaden, D. B., Kaufman, S. B., Hyde, E., Chirico, A., Gaggioli, A., Zhang, J. W., & Keltner, D. (2018). The development of the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S): A multifactorial measure for a complex emotion. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(4), 474–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1484940
[32].Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.
[2].Craig, L, A., Monroy, M, & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe in nature heals: evidence from military veterans, at risk youth, and college students. Emotion, 18 (8), 1195-202. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000442
[3].Cummings, J. R., Wen, H., Ko, M., & Druss, B. G. (2013). Geography and the Medicaid mental health care infrastructure: Implications for health care reform. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(10), 1084–1090. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.377
[4].Danto, A. C. (2003). The abuse of beauty: Aesthetics and the concept of art. Open Court.
[5].Diessner, R. (2019). Understanding the beauty appreciation traits: Empirical research on seeking beauty in all things. Palgrave Macmillan.
[6].Diessner, R., Iyer, R., Smith, M., & Haidt, J. (2013). Who engages with moral beauty? Journal of Moral Education, 42(2), 139-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2013.785941
[7].Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
[8].Freud, S. (1914). On Narcissism: An Introduction. The Standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIV (1914-1916): On the History of the Psycho-Analytic Movement, Papers on Metapsychology and Other Works, 67-102.
[9].Fromm, E. (2006). The art of loving. Harper Perennial Modern Classics. (Original work published 1956).
[10].Goldberg, S. B., Tucker, R. P., Greene, P. A., Davidson, R. J., Wampold, B. E., Kearney, D. J., & Simpson, T. L. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 59, 52–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.10.011
[11].Haidt, J. (2003). Elevation and the positive psychology of morality. In C. L. M. Keyes & J. Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived (pp. 275–289). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10594-012
[12].Hansen, M. M., Jones, R., & Tocchini, K. (2017). Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and nature
[13].therapy: A state-of-the-art review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(8), 851. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080851
[14].Ishizu, T., & Zeki, S. (2017). The experience of beauty derived from sorrow. Human Brain Mapping, 38(8), 4185–4200. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23657
[15].Keltner, D. (2023). Awe: The new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life. Penguin.
[16].Mattheiss, S., Zabihian, S., Diessner, R. (2025). Moral beauty, natural beauty, and artistic beauty cause self-transcendent emotions. Journal of Moral Education, 1-19 (online). https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2025.2588303
[17].Nitzan, A., & Orkibi, H. (2021). "We're All in the Same Boat" - The experience of people with mental health conditions and non-clinical community members in integrated arts-based groups. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 661831. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661831
[18].Masuda, A., & Tully, E. C. (2011). The role of mindfulness and psychological flexibility in somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress in a nonclinical college sample. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 17(1), 66–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587211423400
[19].Palouse Mindfulness. (n.d.). Mountain meditation [PDF]. https://palousemindfulness.com/docs/mountain-meditation.pdf
[20].Pohling, R., & Diessner, R. (2016). Moral elevation and moral beauty: A review of the empirical literature. Review of General Psychology, 20, 412–425. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000089
[21].Plato. (1989). The symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett.
[22].Schoeller, F., Jain, A., Adrien, V., Maes, P., & Reggente, N. (2024). Aesthetic chills mitigate maladaptive cognition in depression. BMC Psychiatry, 24(1), Article #40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05476-3
[23].Russell, B. (1930). The conquest of happiness. H. Liveright.
[24].Trupp, M. D., Howlin, C., Fekete, A., Kutsche, J., Fingerhut, J., & Pelowski, M. (2025). The impact of viewing art on well-being—a systematic review of the evidence base and suggested mechanisms. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 20(6), 978–1002. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2025.2481041
[25].U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). What’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? https://www.hhs.gov/answers/medicare-and-medicaid/what-is-the-difference-between-medicare-medicaid/index.html
[26].Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. University of Chicago Press.
[27].Victor, S. E., Devendorf, A. R., Lewis, S. P., Rottenberg, J., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Stage, D. L., & Miller, R. H. (2022). Only human: Mental-Health difficulties among clinical, counseling, and school psychology faculty and trainees. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(6), 1576–1590. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211071079
[28].Wilczek, F. (2015). A beautiful question: Finding nature’s deep design. Penguin.
[29].Wilkinson, D. (2022). Wabi-sabi: a virtue of imperfection. Journal of Medical Ethics, 48(11), 937–938. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2021-108074
[30].World Health Organization. (2024). WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/WHO-UCN-MSD-MHE-2024.01
[31].Yaden, D. B., Kaufman, S. B., Hyde, E., Chirico, A., Gaggioli, A., Zhang, J. W., & Keltner, D. (2018). The development of the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S): A multifactorial measure for a complex emotion. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(4), 474–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1484940
[32].Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.
Copyright © 2026 Naoaki Takeda, Rhett Diessner
Publishing time:2026-01-29
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License