EC Psychology And Psychiatry

Background: Counselling is when a trained professional helps someone work through personal challenges. It is a type of therapy that involves a trained professional listening to a person and helping them deal with emotional and psychological issues. In 2022, 55.8 million adults in the United States received mental health treatment or counseling, including talk therapy, which is also known as counseling or psychotherapy. 

Objective: The objective of the study is to assess the attitude toward psychological counseling among undergraduate students in Nepal.

Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive design study was conducted among 145 students. A lottery method from Simple Random Sampling was used for the selection of the study area and total enumerative sampling was used to select sample units. Data was collected using the Attitude towards seeking professional psychological help Scale- Short form¹ to assess attitude and a self-developed questionnaire was used to determine demographic data. Data analysis was done using a statistical program for the social science (SPSS) version 20, which includes descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (chi-square and Fischer exact test) to assess the association between socio-demographic variables and family factors with attitude towards psychological counseling. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of the institute. Approval was taken from the respective college before conducting the research. Informed consent was taken from the respondents before collecting data.

Result: The mean age of the respondent was 20.4 years and S.D was 1.196. Among 145 respondents, most of them (59.3%) were female, and all of them were married. Most of them (71.7%) had a nuclear family. Almost all parents were literate (mother = 92.4%; father = 97.2%). The findings of the study reveal that the majority of respondents 68.3% had positive attitudes and 38.7% negative attitudes and there is no significant association between socio-demographic variables and family factors with attitude towards psychological counseling.

Conclusion: The study concluded that the majority of the students had positive attitudes. There is no significant association between socio-demographic variables and family factors with attitude towards psychological counseling. Concerning the findings, colleges can ensure that psychological counseling services are easily accessible to all students.

 Keywords: Psychological Counseling; Psychotherapy; Perception

1. Fischer EH and Farina A. “Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help: A shortened form and considerations for research”. Journal of College Student Development4 (1995): 368-373.
2. Rickwood D., et al. “Young people’s help-seeking for mental health problems”. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health3 (2005): 218-251.
3. Shi W., et al. “Barriers to professional mental health help-seeking among Chinese adults: A systematic review”. Frontiers in Psychiatry 11 (2020): 442.
4. Farooq S., et al. “Stigma associated with and attitude regarding mental health help-seeking among undergraduate nursing students in Karachi, Pakistan”. Research Square (2021).
5. Picco L., et al. “Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help: Factor structure and socio-demographic predictors”. Frontiers in Psychology 7 (2016): 547.
6. Komiya N and Eells GT. “Predictors of attitudes toward seeking counseling among international students”. Journal of College Counseling.2 (2001): 153-160.
7. Daudi E., et al. “University students’ attitudes toward seeking psychological help for psycho-social problems in two selected public universities in Tanzania: A mixed methods study”. SAGE Open2 (2023): 215824402311792.
8. Oswalt SB., et al. “Trends in college students’ mental health diagnoses and utilization of services, 2009-2015”. Journal of American College Health1 (2020): 41-51.
9. Kalpani Abhayasinghe. “Knowledge and attitudes towards psychological counselling and guidance among undergraduates in Sri Lanka”. International Journal of Current Research7 (2014): 7493-7497.
10. Ramdass M., et al. “Students’ attitudes towards psychological help-seeking”. Journal of Education and Development3 (2020): 11.
11. Alluhaibi BA and Awadalla AW. “Attitudes and stigma toward seeking psychological help among Saudi Adults”. BMC Psychology1 (2022): 216.
12. Mental Disorder. World Health Organization (2022).
13. Saxena S and Wadhwani I. “Indian students’ attitude towards guidance and counseling”. International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field6 (2022): 179-187.
14. Zafar M., al. “Attitude towards seeking professional help for mental health among medical students in Karachi, Pakistan”. Future Science OA1 (2024): FSO916.
15. Yurayat P and Seechaliao T. “Undergraduate students attitudes towards online counseling since the COVID-19 pandemic”. Higher Education Studies1 (2022): 72.