ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1602009
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrating Health Psychology in Practice: Enhancing Well-being and Improving Health Outcomes Across Diverse ContextsView all 20 articles
From Psychological Well-Being to Distress: the role of Psychological Counseling Interventions in University students
Provisionally accepted
Francesco Craig1*
Gianluca Mariano Colella1
Flaviana Tenuta1
Martina Mauti2Antonio Gravina2Maria Luigia Calomino2Roberta Plastina2Alberto Polito2
Angela Costabile1- 1Department of Cultures, Education and Society, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
- 2Psychological Counseling Services, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
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Introduction: University students encounter specific psychosocial challenges contributing to increasing psychological distress. The dual continua model posits that psychological well-being and distress are separate yet interrelated aspects of mental health. This study examines the relationships between psychological well-being, academic engagement, and mental distress in students seeking support from a University Psychological Counseling Service and evaluates the effectiveness of psychological counseling interventions in improving well-being and reducing distress. Methods: A mixed-method approach was adopted, incorporating both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. A total of 246 students completed self-report measures such as the Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale, the SInAPSi Academic Engagement Scale, and the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation. For the longitudinal component, 90 students were assessed before (T0) and after (T1) six counseling sessions. Multiple regression and mediation analyses explored predictors of distress, while paired t-tests evaluated intervention outcomes. Results: Self-Acceptance (p < 0.001) and Environmental Mastery (p = 0.037) dimensions significantly predicted lower psychological distress. Academic engagement did not mediate the relationship between well-being and distress. Post-intervention, psychological distress decreased significantly (p < 0.001), with 56.7% of students falling over the clinical distress cut-off at T1 compared to 84.4% at T0. The Autonomy (p = 0.03) and Self-Acceptance (p = 0.002) dimensions showed significant post-intervention improvements. The current study emphasizes that mental health is a dynamic, multidimensional construct, including both psychological distress and well-being. Universities should integrate positive psychology into curricula and expand psychological counseling services to provide proactive support, focusing on resilience, stress management, and emotional regulation.
Keywords: psychological well-being, counseling interventions, Dual continua model, university students, Academic engagement, psychological distress
Received: 28 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Craig, Colella, Tenuta, Mauti, Gravina, Calomino, Plastina, Polito and Costabile. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Francesco Craig, Department of Cultures, Education and Society, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
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