Pattern of access, early predictors of use, and treatment effectiveness of a psychological counselling service for medical students: an Italian longitudinal study

Bani, Marco; Ardenghi, S; Zorzi, Federico; Russo, Selena; Corrias, D; Strepparava, M

doi:10.1080/09515070.2023.2204420

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 57 publications

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“…Corresponding positive outcomes were observed in additional UK-based studies, indicating improvements of 63% (Murray et al, 2016) and 66% (Broglia et al, 2021), respectively, along with a Danish sample displaying a 64% improvement rate (Østergård et al, 2019). Similar findings emerged within the Italian context, with studies showing a 65% recovery rate among students meeting clinical criteria (Bani et al, 2020(Bani et al, , 2023Strepparava et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

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

Bani,

Zorzi,

Russo

et al. 2024

Couns and Psychother Res

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IntroductionUniversity 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.

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