Hybrid Group Counseling: Integrating Online and Offline Sessions to Enhance the Psychological Well-Being of Muslim

Muslim students in higher education often experience psychological challenges such as anxiety, social pressure, and academic stress, which affect their psychological well-being. This study introduces a hybrid group counseling model that integrates online and offline sessions to offer greater accessibility and flexibility while upholding Islamic values. A mixed-method design was employed, combining a quantitative experimental approach with ten Muslim students who received both pre-test and post-test assessments, and a qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews to explore their experiences. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze psychological well-being using a modified version of the Ryff scale that incorporates Islamic values. The results showed a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores (p = 0.00195, p < 0.05), indicating that hybrid group counseling effectively enhances the psychological well-being of Muslim students. Interview findings revealed that flexibility, facilitator competence, technological quality, and group social support contributed to the successful implementation of the hybrid model. Evidence from both quantitative and qualitative data supports the effectiveness of hybrid group counseling over conventional approaches. These findings support the development of adaptive, inclusive, and technology-based Islamic guidance and counseling services.