A comparison of online and in-person counseling outcomes using solution-focused brief therapy for college students with anxiety

Summary & key facts

Researchers tested a short, goal-focused type of counseling called solution-focused brief therapy with 49 college students who had mild to moderate anxiety. Students were randomly sent to either live video sessions or in-person sessions. Both groups got less anxious on standard questionnaires, and the study did not find a clear difference between video and in-person delivery. Because the sample was small and not very diverse, the results suggest video counseling can work for some students, but more and bigger studies are needed.

Key facts:

• The study included 49 undergraduate students who were seeking counseling for mild to moderate anxiety.
• Students were randomly assigned to either live, real-time video counseling or in-person counseling using solution-focused brief therapy. Solution-focused brief therapy is a short, practical form of talk therapy that focuses on finding solutions and goals rather than exploring the distant past.
• Researchers measured outcomes with standard anxiety questionnaires, including the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory and parts of the College Counseling Assessment of Psychological Symptoms that measure general and social anxiety.
• Both the video group and the in-person group showed meaningful reductions in overall anxiety and in generalized and social anxiety scores on those questionnaires.
• The study did not find a clear difference in effectiveness between the online video sessions and the in-person sessions.
• The authors noted limits to the study, including the small number of participants and lack of diversity, so the results should be interpreted with caution and tested in larger, more varied groups.

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study compared online, synchronous video counseling to in-person counseling using solution-focused brief therapy for college students with mild to moderate anxiety. Participants: Participants were 49 undergraduate students who were seeking counseling for mild to moderate anxiety. The study was conducted from November, 2017 to December 2018. Methods: In a randomized, non-inferiority design, undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to online, synchronous video counseling or in-person treatment for anxiety using solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). Participants completed the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and College Counseling Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS) to assess outcomes. Results: The results showed significant changes in scores on the BAI and the CCAPS Generalized Anxiety and Social Anxiety subscales for participants in both study conditions, and no significant differences in effectiveness of the two delivery methods. Conclusions: The findings provide support for the treatment of college students with anxiety with SFBT through online, synchronous video counseling. Limitations related to sample size and diversity are discussed.

Topics

Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics

Categories

Psychology Social Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Anxiety Beck Anxiety Inventory Beck Depression Inventory Clinical psychology Psychiatry Psychology Psychotherapist Solution focused brief therapy

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Anxiety or worry