Restorative benefits of soundscapes for individuals with psychological disorders

Mental health is a significant focus in the global public health domain today. Soundscapes have been identified as having positive environmental restorative benefits, yet the discussion on the mechanisms through which soundscapes contribute to the recovery from psychological disorders remains insufficiently explored. To guide the creation of restorative soundscapes in psychotherapy settings, this article adopted an "exposure-response" research paradigm. Through a soundscape intervention experiment involving 98 participants, it analyzed the perceived restorativeness evaluations and both physiological and psychological responses of populations with different psychological states. Overall, this article explored the restorativeness of soundscapes for individuals with psychological disorders in a solitary listening condition, with specific soundscapes such as rain sounds, bird songs, and river sounds demonstrating restorative effects. Individuals with psychological disorders rated rain sounds highest, while psychologically healthy individuals gave the highest ratings to bird songs.