The impact of psychological distress and university counselling on academic outcomes: Analysis of a routine practice‐based dataset

Scruggs, Robert; Broglia, Emma; Barkham, Michael; Duncan, Charlie

doi:10.1002/capr.12640

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This improvement lasted for up to 6 months after the intervention, covering at least one academic term and examination session. Our findings align with a recent UK study (Scruggs et al., 2023), wherein 48% of the students reported that counselling enhanced their academic performance, while 36.5% reported an improvement in their overall student experience.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Over 60% of the students showed a reliable improvement 6 months after the conclusion of the counselling intervention. These figures align closely with prior pre–post studies (Bani et al., 2020; Broglia et al., 2021; Connell et al., 2008; Murray et al., 2016; Østergård et al., 2019; Scruggs et al., 2023) and notably emphasise the stability of the improvement over time, extending up to 6 months after the intervention. Nearly 40% of the students meeting clinical condition criteria at baseline moved to a non‐clinical state at the 6‐month follow‐up.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

See 1 more Smart Citation

‘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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

‘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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…More specifically, it contributes to the decrease in psychological symptoms and in the improvement of students' wellbeing [54][55][56][57]. Eleven studies report statistically significant findings of counselling's positive effect on university retention [37,[58][59][60], academic performance, outcome and GPA [61][62][63][64], as well as on university adaptation [65][66][67]. From those 11 studies, two studies presented specific conditions in their results' significance, and two other studies did not find any relationship between counselling and GPA.…”

Section: Effectiveness Of Counselling On Swd's Adaptation and Perform...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation, Academic Performance and Support: Students with and without Disabilities and Future Considerations for Counselling Psychology

Parpottas,

Christofi,

Ioannou

2023

Behavioral Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The transition to university is a process that presents young adults with several challenges in adaptation, especially students with disabilities. The current study investigated the differences in adaptation and academic performance between students with and without disabilities and further examined these differences among students with disabilities. Additionally, we explored the role of academic support for students with disabilities’ adaptation and academic performance, as well as their perceptions of a proposed specialised package of counselling psychology interventions. The sample consisted of 127 students with disabilities and 127 without disabilities, aged 18–24 years. Results revealed that students with disabilities reported a lower GPA and adaptation than students without disabilities. Additionally, differences among students with disabilities were observed only in terms of GPA, according to their disability type, existence of comorbidity and type of exam accommodations. Interestingly, no differences were found in GPA or adaptation between students with disabilities who utilised psychological therapy and those who did not. Finally, adaptation scores, but not GPA, were higher for students with disabilities who were positive in receiving a specialised package of counselling psychology interventions. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature and future considerations of counselling psychology’s role in support of students with disabilities.

show abstract

Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and feedback in university student counselling and mental health services: Considerations for practitioners and service leads

Barkham,

Broglia

2023

Couns and Psychother Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AimRoutine outcome monitoring (ROM), including the use of feedback, has become a much vaunted method in psychological therapies but is little used in university/college counselling and mental health services, perhaps because its adoption raises questions for many practitioners and service leaders. There is a need for both clinical‐ and research‐based statements to clarify the reasoning and rationale for ROM. This paper aims to present and respond to common challenges of and reservations about using ROM in student counselling and/or mental health services.MethodThe article poses 15 questions and issues about the adoption of ROM drawn from the literature on this topic and further refined by practitioner‐ and researcher‐members of a consortium comprising service leads, practitioners, and researchers working in the field of student counselling in the UK. The questions address nine themes: (1) the purpose and yield of ROM; (2) the burden of measurement; (3) the impact on clients and process of therapy; (4) consistency with therapeutic theory; (5) client groups and settings; (6) concern from practitioners; (7) equality, diversity, and inclusion; (8) implementation; and (9) relationship with the paradigm of practice‐based evidence.FindingsResponses to each of the 15 questions are provided from a methodological, evidence‐based, and clinical perspective.ConclusionsThe responses provide practitioners with the necessary information to enable them to make informed decisions as to the value, or otherwise, of adopting ROM, including feedback, in the delivery of counselling interventions, and generating evidence created from clinical practice.

show abstract

The impact of psychological distress and university counselling on academic outcomes: Analysis of a routine practice‐based dataset

Cited by 11 publications

References 27 publications

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

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

Adaptation, Academic Performance and Support: Students with and without Disabilities and Future Considerations for Counselling Psychology

Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and feedback in university student counselling and mental health services: Considerations for practitioners and service leads

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About