A recent study design was published in Pilot and Feasibility Studies with its aim to explore the benefits of supplementing counseling for mental health with a well-being app for university students.
Mental wellbeing has been of increasing concern on university campuses. In this unique environment, counselors face the challenge of providing short-term therapy to students with busy academic schedules. To enhance the effectiveness of one-on-one therapy, researchers propose a study design, which aims to explore whether the use of well-being apps can effectively supplement therapy in improving mental wellbeing among university students.
The study design proposes the use of two groups: 1) students who use counseling and the well-being app and 2) students who only attend therapy. The intention is to compare whether these two groups show any differences in terms of improvement in students’ levels of anxiety and depression. Students would be required to complete questionnaires in order to obtain an anxiety score and a depression score, both before psychological intervention, and after.
The implications of this type of study may yield a novel approach to counseling university students. The supplementary use of well-being apps may improve the effectiveness of counseling, and thus provide a feasible solution to improving psychological wellbeing among students.
As university students face challenges in acquiring necessary mental health resources due to long waitlists, and the need for help during off hours (ie. holidays, weekends, and evenings), proposing the use of an easily accessible application may improve student mental health.
Written By: Nicole Pinto, HBSc
