Exploratory study of attitudes towards counselling among medical students in India

ABSTRACT

The process of professional development during the course of medical education is frequently faced with stressors and setbacks in academic, personal, familial and social domains. The present research explored the attitudes, barriers and perceived benefits of counselling services among 692 undergraduate medical students using the Counselling Need Assessment Questionnaire. It was found that 50% of the participants accepted that there was a need for counselling for both themselves as well as for friends and 75% also felt that that mild stress could be relieved with the help of counselling. The barriers that students faced for approaching counselling services as well as the perceived areas of benefits were also explored.

KEYWORDS:

• Counselling
• attitude
• medical students
• stress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anuja S. Panicker

Dr. Anuja Panicker is a Clinical Child Psychologist and works as Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.

M. Samskani

Mr. M. Samskani is a Student Counsellor, currently working in the Department of Clinical Psychology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

S. Vimala

S. Vimala is a Student Counsellor, working at the  PSG Student Wellness Center, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.

G. Poornima

G. Poornima is a Student Counsellor, working at the  PSG Student Wellness Center, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Merlin Veronika

Merlin Veronika is a Biostatistician, working at the PSG Center for Research and Bioethics, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.