Undergraduate Students' Attitudes towards Online Counseling since the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has left tertiary students feeling anxious, stressed, and depressed. As a result, online counseling is a new option for students seeking counseling to alleviate stress and anxiety. The aims of this study were to 1) investigate undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling since the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) compare the attitudes of undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University towards online counseling since the COVID-19 pandemic, classified by gender, academic year, grade point average (GPA), faculty, experience in face-to-face counseling, and experience in online counseling. The participants were 417 undergraduate students from Mahasarakham University who were selected by using a convenient sampling method. The research instrument was the questionnaire on undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling. The researcher used percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA to analyze the data. The findings indicated that the undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling were at a high level. Further, the undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling were statistically significant differences at a level of p<0.01 attributed to the variables of genders and GPAs.

University Student Counselees’ Attitudes and Experiences Towards Online Counseling During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study

“…This was consistent with other studies that have determined that OC and telemental health can effectively replace traditional face-to-face services, especially during the forced closures of facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic (Yurayat & Seechaliao, 2022). Additionally, it has been recognized that the number of people seeking OC has substantially increased throughout the pandemic, which is expected to continue as there are no alternative ways of treatment during the pandemic (Vera San Juan et al, 2021) and even after the pandemic 'ends' (Pierce et al, 2021).…”

“…Of the five aspects evaluated, OC counselor characteristics were rated as most important by the respondents ( = 4.45, SD = .54). This includes having training in psychology and counseling and having a personality appropriate for being a counselor, including the capacity to recognize and understand emotions, a willingness to support others, friendliness, trustworthiness, the skill to establish relationships with others, and the counselors' responsibility to protect the student's confidentiality (Yurayat & Seechaliao, 2022).…”

“…Because OC involves two-way communication between the counselor and the counselee, counseling is a relationship-based process. Counselors are professionals with expertise, skills, and qualifications that empower the counselees in exploring their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and life's purposes to realize challenges or concerns, search for solutions using their resources, and then activate the solutions to live a more productive and fulfilling life (Yurayat & Seechaliao, 2022). The quality of the relationship and genuine interest the counselor develops with the counselee indicates counseling or psychotherapy success (Luke, 2014).…”

“…They should be able to regulate and control their actions and be on time for their OC sessions. Like their counselors, they should have ICT proficiency and work on developing their digital literacy (Yurayat & Seechaliao, 2022).…”

“…The client must be willing to pursue psychological support and have a positive attitude toward the Internet. This encompasses both computer usage and self-efficacy with using a computer because OC attitudes may be affected by personal norms and beliefs about the Internet and psychological treatment (Teo et al, 2020;Yurayat & Seechaliao, 2022).…”