Offering Psychological Support to University Students in Poland During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned From an Initial Evaluation

Abstract

This perspective article aims to present insights into an initiative to provide free psychological support to students at the University of Gdańsk (UG) – one of the first universities in Poland to offer such help – during the first major COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in March 2020. We begin by introducing key psychological consequences of the pandemic, with particular emphasis on university students, according to Pandemic Management Theory (PMT). Next, we highlight the most significant challenges reported to us by the students in response to the support initiative and applied psychological interventions (including psychoeducation, relaxation, arranging day plans, taking care of relationships, and “just” talking). We conclude by reflecting on the challenges for mental health posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the outcome of our initiative – the creation of the Academic Psychological Support Centre at the University of Gdańsk. These insights and lessons learned from developing our practice can help enhance the effectiveness of future psychological support programs through the pandemic and beyond.

Two Waves of COVID-19 in University Setting: Mental Health and Underlying Risk Factors

“…In this context, the means and procedures for psychological counseling need to be designed or improved. The key tasks in this process should include the increased use of online counseling tools ( Renton et al, 2014 ), the creation/provision of methods to quickly verify the presence of mental distress or increased risk factors as well as support for the development of university counseling centers from the management in terms of creating the time, material and financial conditions for their functioning ( Rudnik et al, 2021 ). This development should be underpinned by the fact that long-term unaddressed depression and stress have a negative impact on mental and psychological health ( Houtjes et al, 2014 ; Belleau et al, 2019 ), while at the same time most students do not wish to formally address their mental health problems for fear of stigmatization ( Ahmedani, 2011 ; Parcesepe and Cabassa, 2013 ).…”

Digital mental health interventions for anxiety and depressive symptoms in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

“…10 Thus, the urgency to provide them with adequate, personalized, evidence-based psychological support amid these difficult times has been advocated. 13 However, in the previous few years, many digital mental health interventions had been developed and implemented for special populations such as youths and students with the aim of improving mental health care access. 14 These are based not only on the online delivery of conventional psychotherapies ---e.g., cognitive behavioural (CBT) and dialectical behaviour (DBT) therapies, or mindfulnessbased interventions 6,15,16 ---but also on specific digital tools, including video-based and mobile health (mHealth) approaches, 17,18 and have been increasingly acknowledged as convenient, accessible, easy to use, and helpful options.…”

Loneliness and Satisfaction with Life among Nursing Students in Poland, Spain and Slovakia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Academic Psychological Support Centres at universities are an interesting initiative. The proposed support includes emergency advisory interventions over the Internet and psychological interventions, i.e., psychoeducation, relaxation, creating day schedules, cultivating relations [ 38 , 60 ].…”