University Counseling Research Articles

Covid-19 and Well-Being of Tertiary Students in One State University: Basis for Social Counseling Program

Researchers explores the manifestation of students in covid-19 impact to their well-being and its significant relationship. The results served as the foundation for the Social Counseling Program. This study utilized descriptive research design and used validated survey type questionnaire. The non-random sample approach of respondents which was composed of 882 students of one State University having various campuses. The results showed that the covid-19 impact in terms of health risk, health protocols, and online learning management is strongly manifested in the lives of the students. Meanwhile, the well-being in terms of positive emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning and achievement (PERMA) is also manifested. Consequently, the study found a substantial association between the covid-19 influence and the Seligman Theory of well-being. Meanwhile, health procedures have a strong association with tertiary students' well-being, albeit with a limited degree of correlation. With this, it is recommended to evaluate the university's guidance and counseling services and interventions for students in the new normal contexts. Create appropriate interventions that will address learners' difficulties and worries about academic obstacles and overall life demands, particularly at a time of pandemic.

Emerging adulthood in medical school. Gender, school-related factors and Big Five traits related to medical students’ quarter-life crisis

Background: Quarter-life crisis is the anxiety and discomfort the young might experience at the end of their studies and at the beginning of their career. Objectives: Factors related to medical students’ quarter-life crisis were explored in this study. Methods: in the cross-sectional study, 351 medical students (74.6% female, mean of age: 23.79 years, SD: 1.53 years) filled in the online questionnaire that contained Quarter-life Crisis Questionnaire, International Personality Item Pool version of Big Five markers, and questions about different aspects of medical school. Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and linear regression analysis were performed. Results: Women reported higher quarter-life crisis (t = –3.44, p = 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.42). Higher quarter-life crisis displayed among those students who did not apply to medical university right after high school (U = 2865.5, p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.24). Students who would have not applied to medical school again (t = –7.93, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.90); would have not encouraged their children to apply to medical school (U = 10414.5, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.57); were uncertain to finish university (t = 6.68, p< 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.74) showed higher quarter-life crisis. Students who failed at least one term for academic reason (U = 11809.5, p = 0.04, Cohen’s d = 0.23); did not feel to get proper knowledge to accomplish a medical job (t = –3.90, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.54); were not satisfied with their grades (U = 11560.5, p = 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.27) reported higher quarter-life crisis. Students who did not plan to work in a clinical field and patient care (t =–5.974, p = 0.00, Cohen’s d = 0.93); wanted to work abroad in the future (U = 12931.5, p = 0.00; Cohen’s d =0.27) had higher quarter-life crisis. Personality traits, such as extraversion (β = –0.20, p < 0.001), conscientiousness (β = –0.10, p = 0.01) were significant negative, neuroticism significant positive predictor of quarter-life crisis (β = 0.61, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The explored variables might be indicators of quarter-life crisis, and can be the basis of university counseling, when medical students’ quarter-life crisis and emerging adulthood is in focus.

Decoding Factors Influencing Mental Health Help-Seeking in Asian International Students: A Correlational Survey Study

This study investigates the effects of gender, age, perceived socioeconomic status, and attitudes toward mental health treatment, alongside the awareness and accessibility of mental health services, on the propensity of Asian international undergraduate and graduate students in U.S. colleges to seek mental health support. Utilizing an online survey, responses from a diverse group of 116 participants, aged 18 and above, from universities across the nation were examined through correlation analysis. Findings indicated no significant gender differences in attitudes toward mental health treatment. However, factors such as higher educational level, superior socioeconomic background, longer U.S. residency, and increased awareness and accessibility of mental health services positively influenced attitudes. This quantitative study extends previous qualitative research addressing similar questions, filling a gap by offering broader empirical insights into this population’s mental health service utilization. The outcome underscores the need for university counseling centers to develop targeted interventions that acknowledge the needs of Asian international students. Future research should explore the longitudinal impacts of these factors on mental health help-seeking behaviors to inform ongoing service improvement.

Coping with test anxiety using imagery rescripting: A two-session randomized controlled trial

BackgroundUp to 55 % of students experience test anxiety (TA), which is characterized by intense physiological and psychological symptoms before or during exams, such as anxiety, fear of failure, sweating, or increased heart rate. Furthermore, TA increases graduation times and can result in discontinuance of the graduate program all together. Previous research demonstrated the beneficial effects of combining cognitive behavioral therapy with imagery rescripting, however, treatment programs are comparably long. Hence, they do not account for the students´ time-sensitive schedules. Therefore, the present study investigates a two-session short-intervention using imagery rescripting to treat TA. Methods44 students and pupils were randomly assigned to either the two-session imagery rescripting intervention (22 participants) or the waitlist-control condition (22 participants). One week before the intervention clinical interviews were conducted and self-report questionnaires on TA, self-efficacy, symptoms of depression, and intrusive prospective images were completed (T1). The same questionnaires were completed one week (T2) and six months after the intervention (T3). ResultsTest anxiety significantly decreased from T1 to T2, as well as from T1 to T3 within the intervention group. Furthermore, there were medium to large within and between group effects for situational test anxiety, self-efficacy, symptoms of depression, as well as prospective intrusive images, showing significant improvements for the intervention group at six months follow-up. LimitationsThe study is limited to the comparably small sample size, as well as the sole usage of self-report measurements. ConclusionsThe presented short-intervention provides a feasible treatment technique, which can be easily applied within school and university counseling centers.

‘What happens then?’: A 6‐month follow‐up on students accessing a university counselling service

AbstractIntroductionUniversity psychological counselling services represent a frontline defence to detect, treat or refer students with a wide range of (clinical and non‐clinical) difficulties. Nevertheless, only few studies describe their impact on academic self‐efficacy and report follow‐up data. Evidence on students' actual access to further psychological support in times of hardship is also scant and most needed. This study aimed to fill these gaps, exploring the stability of improvement in clinical conditions in a wide sample of university students and reporting post‐intervention referrals to mental health services.MethodsIn a longitudinal study, 218 students who accessed a psychological counselling service at the University of Milano‐Bicocca between 2015 and 2019 completed an assessment at the beginning (T0), conclusion (T1) and 6 months after (T2) a brief cognitive behavioural intervention. The assessment included psychological symptoms, general distress, emotion dysregulation and academic self‐efficacy. Information about students' choices to continue a psychological intervention in other services was also collected and contrasted with the counsellor's indication.ResultsAt follow‐up, the improvement in academic self‐efficacy remained stable, with more than 60% of the students maintaining a reliable clinical change, and nearly half of them reporting having accessed (or being willing to contact) a mental health service outside the university services.ConclusionThese findings highlight the key role of counselling services in addressing students' distress and academic performances in the long term and in building bridges with mental health services outside the university system for students who need longer and specialised treatment.

A pilot study evaluating online training for therapist delivery of interpersonal psychotherapy for eating disorders.

Individuals with eating disorders (EDs) often do not receive evidence-based care, such as interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), partly due to lack of accessible training in these treatments. The standard method of training (i.e., in-person workshops) is expensive and time consuming, prompting a need for more scalable training tools. The primary aim of this pilot and open trial was to examine the effects of an IPT online training platform on training outcomes (i.e., IPT fidelity, knowledge, and acceptance) and, secondarily, whether online training was different from in-person training (using a comparative sample from a separate study) in terms of training outcomes and patient symptoms. Participants were therapists (N = 60) and student patients (N = 42) at 38 college counseling centers. Therapists completed baseline questionnaires and collected data from a student patient with ED symptoms. Therapists then participated in an IPT online training program and completed post-training assessments. Following online training, acceptance of evidence-based treatments, therapist knowledge of IPT, therapist acceptance of IPT, and treatment fidelity increased; acceptance of online training was high at baseline and remained stable after training. Using the 90% confidence interval on outcome effect sizes, results suggested IPT online training was not different from in-person training on most outcomes. Results are based on 60% of therapists who originally enrolled due to high dropout rate of therapist participants. Findings from this preliminary pilot study support the use of IPT online training, which could increase access to evidence-based ED treatment and improve patient care. Lack of accessible therapist training has contributed to many therapists not delivering, and therefore many patients not receiving, evidence-based treatment. This study evaluated a highly disseminable online training and compared outcomes to traditional in-person training and found that training and patient outcomes were not different. Online training has the potential to enhance access to evidence-base care, which could in turn optimize patient outcomes.

Testing for Measurement Invariance of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms–34 Scores With a University Sample

This study expanded previous psychometric analyses to include gender and race using measurement invariance with the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS-34) on a large sample (n = 4,013) of students referred to a university counseling center. Internal consistency was demonstrated for all subscales with all αs and ωs ≥ .80. The seven-factor model provided a good to excellent fit for all participant subgroup responses. The total sample comparative fit index was .948, the root-mean-square error of approximation was .058 [.057, .059], and the standardized root-mean-square residual was .048. Full measurement invariance was documented across all gender and racial/ethnic identity comparisons (i.e., White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, multiracial, Latino/a/x, non-Latino/a/x). The study concluded that CCAPS-34 subscales scores can be used with confidence with college-aged students of diverse backgrounds for screening and outcome assessment purposes.

Contemplative Dispositions and Mental Health: The Supportive Role of Self-Compassion and Mindfulness on College Students’ Resilience

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to report the results of a study exploring the mediation effects of self-compassion and mindfulness on the relationship between mental distress and resilience among a national sample of college students (N = 260). The results of the structural equation modeling (SEM) serial mediation analysis revealed that mindfulness through self-compassion fully mediated the relationship between mental distress and resilience. Simple mediation demonstrated that self-compassion accounted for 79.3% of the total effect on resilience, while mindfulness accounted for 46.5%. After accounting for mental distress, follow-up regression analysis identified the mindfulness facet of non-reactive (β = .19, p < . 01), and the self-compassion subscales of mindful awareness (β = .32, p < . 01), common humanity (β = .20, p < . 01), and reverse-scored isolation (β = .17, p < . 05) to predict resilience. For students experiencing depression, anxiety, and loneliness, the dispositions of being present, non-judgmental, and accepting of life struggles may be particularly important for resilience and college persistence. Implications address how college counseling professionals can promote self-compassion and mindfulness on college campuses.

Motivation to change predicts college students’ utilization of self-help resources

Background: Stress and mental health difficulties are common burdens on college students. College counseling centers have been overrun by demand. Thus, self-help interventions may offer a promising alternative to traditional college counseling services. Methods: The current study examined the influence of perceived stress, motivation to change, and self-efficacy beliefs on college students’ use of self-help resources, to determine whether these factors would predict follow-up with self-help recommendations. Results: Results of stepwise linear regression models suggest that perceived stress and self-efficacy did not predict self-help resource utilization. Different types of self-help recommendations did not predict different levels of follow-up. However, motivation to change was a significant predictor college students’ self-help resource use, and this variable was particularly important when self-help recommendations were less structured. Conclusions: These findings can help to predict which college students are likely to make use of self-help resources, and inform targeted individual treatment.

Building capacity in urban schools: emphasizing partnerships between counselor education and elementary schools

PurposePost-COVID-19, public K–12 schools are still facing the consequences of the years of interrupted learning. Schools serving minoritized students are particularly at risk for facing challenges with academics, behavior and student social emotional health. The university counseling programs are in positions to build capacity in urban schools while also supporting counselors-in-training through service-learning opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThe following conceptual manuscript demonstrates how counselor education counseling programs and public schools can harness the capacity-building benefits of university–school partnerships. While prevalent in fields like special education, counselor educators have yet to heed the hall to participate in mutually beneficial partnership programs.FindingsUsing the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and the components of the university–school partnerships, counselor educators and school stakeholders can work together to support student mental health, school staff well-being and counselor-in-training competence.Originality/valueThe benefits and opportunities within the university–school partnerships are well documented. However, few researchers have described a model to support partnerships between the university counseling programs and urban elementary schools. We provide a best practice model using the principles of university–school partnerships and a school’s existing MTSS framework.

Modelling scale effects in rating data: a Bayesian approach

We present a Bayesian approach for the analysis of rating data when a scaling component is taken into account, thus incorporating a specific form of heteroskedasticity. Model-based probability effect measures for comparing distributions of several groups, adjusted for explanatory variables affecting both location and scale components, are proposed. Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques are implemented to obtain parameter estimates of the fitted model and the associated effect measures. An analysis on students’ evaluation of a university curriculum counselling service is carried out to assess the performance of the method and demonstrate its valuable support for the decision-making process.

Black Students’ Mental Help-Seeking Processes During College Matriculation

The present study examined how Black students’ pre-college beliefs and perceptions of mental health services influenced their help-seeking behaviors, both within and beyond college counseling services. Using semi-structured interview data and consensual qualitative research methods (CQR), we examined the experiences of 48 Black college women and men (ages 18–22) sampled from two universities. We identified the following four themes: (1) pre-college experiences shape mental health knowledge (MHK); (2) college adjustment challenges as a precursor to seeking treatment; (3) negative perceptions of college counseling services; and (4) campus community mental health support. Upon seeking counseling services, many students encountered a lack of diversity in counseling staff and cultural mistrust. Thus, they opted to seek mental health support in campus community spaces curated by Black student organizations and administrators. Overall, our findings suggest Black students engage in various alternative campus community spaces to support their mental health. We conclude by discussing the need for deliberate and specialized mental health support for Black students.

University students' access to mental health services: A qualitative study of the experiences of health service professionals through the lens of candidacy in England.

In order to develop a better understanding of students' access to mental health services, we explored the experiences of health care professionals interacting with university students with mental health problems. We interviewed 23 professionals working across university advice and counselling services, NHS general practice, crisis, and psychological services in North and East London between June 2022 and January 2023. Our approach drew on reflexive thematic analysis and the principles of abductive analysis. The notion of candidacy - that is, how different needs are deemed deserving of health service attention - was particularly helpful to our understanding of the ongoing phenomenon of interest in the data. Each student's access to mental health support was highly contingent on the student's dynamic social context and the pressures and organisation of the local health system. Professionals described how different students viewed different needs as deserving of health service attention. Which students reached the professional's service depended on the resources and relationships a student could draw upon, and the service's relative permeability. Once there, what action professionals took was strongly influenced by the professional's service expertise, resource constraints, the relationships the professional's service had with other organisations, the students' wishes, and whether students regarded treatment offers as acceptable. Candidacy offers a useful lens to view university students' access to mental health support. Access appears to be an increasingly intricate task for students, given the fragmented service landscape, surging demand for mental health care and challenges of emerging adulthood. Our findings suggest that policy goals to increase use of mental health services are unlikely to improve outcomes for students without policy makers and health systems giving holistic consideration of inter-service relationships and available resources.

Exercise Prescription Practices Among Mental Health Professionals on College Campuses: Testing the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model.

The co-occurrence of physical inactivity and poor mental health in the college student population can lead to chronic health issues that have negative short-term effects (e.g., academic success). Poor mental health is associated with long-term conditions (e.g., obesity, serious mental illness) that are linked to premature mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine the information-motivation-behavioral (IMB) skills model and evaluate its ability to explain the variance in the use of exercise prescription in mental health treatment. Mental health professionals (MHPs) (n = 255) were recruited from college counseling centers in the USA. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between the predictor variables of information (exercise knowledge and benefits of exercise), motivation (personal beliefs, perceived barriers, and organizational support), and behavioral skills (self-efficacy), and the outcome variable of exercise prescription (i.e., brief counseling and referral for exercise). The predictors accounted for 23% of the variance in exercise prescription (p = .001). Organizational support had a significant direct effect on exercise prescription (β = 0.27, p = .05). Personal beliefs (β = 0.96, p = .05) and organizational support (β = 0.31, p = .04) had significant direct effects on self-efficacy for prescribing exercise. MHP personal exercise behavior was associated with exercise prescription. MHPs may be willing to support physical activity promotion and exercise prescription, but organizational structures are critical to enhance and sustain the delivery of this adjunctive therapy. The personal exercise history of MHPs may be an important consideration for behavior change interventions. The development and validation of scales are important considerations for future intervention study design.

Biracial adolescents and young adults in college counseling

Given the growing prevalence of individuals of mixed race in the US, it is important for college counsellors to attend to how these individuals are socially pressured to understand their own racial identities. Though some scholarships suggest that it is healthy for biracial individuals to identify with the minority part of their identity, I argue that this pressure is in fact special to the US and rooted in a history of slavery. Through a cross-cultural comparison of biracial identity in the US and Haiti, and through examples and techniques from my own experience as a college counselor, I argue that the ability to embrace one’s dual racial identity as mixed individuals may be a healthier choice because it prevents internal dissonance and helps biracial young adults grapple with the effects of White supremacy on their identities

CALM: caring action leadership mindfulness: a college counseling practice-based education model

ABSTRACT College is a phase in life where many young people experience freedom to make decisions as they have never had before. They are living in a community where their education, work, professional, social, and living environment are all very closely entwined. In order to be successful, college students need to feel connected to the college campus, especially at larger public universities. In 2021 the authors surveyed public university social work programs located within the United States and found that many graduate social work students complete internships with the campus counseling center. Advanced social work students are engaged in the majority of these practice education placements. Over three-quarters of the graduate social work students in these internships facilitate student support groups and/or psycho-educational classes and groups on campus. However, just over one-third teach college students mindfulness practice and/or meditation. We suggest a practice-based education model [CALM: Caring Action Leadership Mindfulness] for designing a collaborative Social Work Internship at the campus counseling center that supports the promotion of student mental and physical health, mindfulness and persistence to achieve a college degree.

Exploring student preferences for implementing a digital mental health intervention in a university setting: Qualitative study within a randomised controlled trial.

Digital interventions can be effective in preventing and treating common mental health conditions among university students. Incorporating student experiences and perspectives in the design and implementation of these programmes may improve uptake and engagement. This qualitative study explored university students' perspectives of a low-intensity video-based mental health intervention, their recommendations for implementing the programme in university settings, and their views and recommendations to address barriers to engagement. Participants (N = 115) were students (mean = 20.63 years, SD = 2.10) with elevated distress from 31 Australian universities drawn from a randomised controlled trial of the Uni Virtual Clinic-Lite (UVC-Lite). Data from students randomised to the intervention condition were collected via semi-structured interviews (n = 12) and open-ended questions during post-intervention surveys (n = 103). Data were analysed using content analysis. Participants generally reported positive views of the intervention, and most felt it should be offered to students as a universal intervention. Multiple methods of disseminating the intervention were suggested, including through university counselling, official platforms (e.g. student support services) and informal channels (e.g. word-of-mouth promotion). Difficulty integrating the programme into everyday life, pre-existing beliefs about mental health and technology-related factors were highlighted as barriers to engagement. A low-intensity video-based mental health intervention was generally considered to be acceptable and appropriate for students with mild to moderate distress. Participants provided several suggestions to encourage uptake of the intervention and possible pathways to disseminate the intervention to students. The effectiveness of these should be examined in future trials.

Counseling in the face of crisis: supporting mental health in Tor Vergata University students during the Covid-19 era.

This study aims to present an overview of the clinical experience of the counseling service "Sportello Studenti". The service offers free diagnostic and therapeutic psychological assistance to all Tor Vergata University of Rome students. Preliminary findings on the prevalence of anxious, depressive, and prodromal symptoms in a subset of participants recruited during the initial three-year period of the service's operation (2019-2022) are presented. Beck's Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), Prodromal Questionnaire 16 (PQ-16) and Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI) have been used to investigate principle psychopathological dimensions. 261 students aged 18 to 35 completed the assessment (180 female - 69%). Mild widespread depressive symptoms (35.5%) and mild to severe suicide ideation (5.1%) were highlighted. Ninety students (37.2%) result at a higher risk condition for psychosis. A significant statistical correlation between negative psychopathological indicators, such as suicidal thoughts and age, suggests that younger students exhibit higher susceptibility and vulnerability to mental health issues. The increasing prevalence of distress among young individuals represents an urgent public health concern that necessitates immediate intervention. It is crucial for countries to adopt a comprehensive approach to promoting psychological and mental health. University counseling services serve as an effective initial intervention to address the negative impact of mental illness on academic performance, social interactions, and emotional well-being in young individuals. They also play a pivotal role in the early identification of individuals at risk of developing severe psychiatric disorders. Sportello Studenti has proven to be a valuable initiative addressing the mental health needs of University of Tor Vergata students, underscoring the significance of promoting psychological well-being.

Academic Hardiness Level of Guidance and Counseling Study Program Students Post Covid 19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study is to inform the condition of Academic hardiness of Ahmad Dahlan University Guidance and Counseling Study Program students after the Covid-19 pandemic. Academic hardiness is a personality that is resilient in various obstacles, especially stress. Academic hardiness is a variable that must be possessed by students in order to achieve achievement while studying. The research population is 152 active students for the 2019-2021 academic year. This type of research uses quantitative descriptive. Data were obtained using an academic hardiness scale developed based on Kobasa's theory and Dweck's theory related to academic motivation. The scale developed refers to 3 aspects of academic hardiness namely commitment, challenge, and control. The developed scale was analyzed using the Rach Model. The results of the analysis stated that the 17 items developed contained several notes and needed to be revised. The results showed that the level of student academic hardiness of 89.5% was in the high category, 10.5% was in the medium category, and 0% was in the low category. Based on the research results, it is recommended that further researchers develop a counseling model to develop students' Academic hardiness, especially those who are still in the moderate category.

Social comparison and overall adjustment among freshmen in one public university

The freshmen in universities continue to face adjustment issues to new environments. Thus, transition to the university is characterized by expected independent decisions as compared to the previous secondary school teacher controlled learning environment.When the transition challenges are not well managed by the university administration, then it could lead to the emergence of psychopathology, as pre-existing mental health problems are exacerbated or new symptoms emerge in response to novel environmental stressors.The present study examined the relationship between social comparison and overall adjustment among the freshmen in one selected public university in Kenya. The study was informed by Social Comparison Theory (SCT) and Student Integration Theory.This study was anchored in the positivist research paradigm. The study was guided by the cross-sectional survey research design. The sample size comprised 213 freshmen in one public university in Western Kenya. The Social Comparison Scale and Adjustment Questionnaire were used to collect data. The validity results indicated that the Keiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was 0.753. The Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity at 95% level of confidence was significant (p-value of .000 &lt; 0.05). The finding shows that there was a low negative (r = -.142, n =213, p&lt;.05) relationship between social comparison and overall adjustment among the first year university students. The study concludes that the social comparison regression model was adequate to predict overall adjustment among first year university students [F (1, 211) = 4.366, p&lt; .05)].The study recommends that the university counseling center should develop holistic counseling therapies, which would enhance coping skills, seeking support, and counseling seeking behaviours among first year students