The effectiveness of a five-session workshop on the distress of international students in Finland – a pilot study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21516447 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Francesca Brandolin (0000-0003-4079-3669, University of Jyväskylä, corresponding author), Päivi Lappalainen (0000-0001-9038-894X, University of Jyväskylä), Simone Gorinelli (0000-0003-0895-2295, University of Jyväskylä), Joona Muotka (0000-0002-7113-903X, University of Jyväskylä), Panajiota Räsänen (0000-0003-0554-8086, University of Jyväskylä), Raimo Lappalainen (0000-0001-6683-134X, University of Jyväskylä) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 865-882 |
| Publication date | 2023-11-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Guidance and Counselling (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0306-9885 • E-ISSN: 1469-3534 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03069885.2023.2165636 |
| OpenAlex | W4366131701 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 48 |
The mental health of international students has become a concern, as they face high levels of psychological distress. We designed a five-week acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) workshop with two additional individual assessment meetings. The intervention aimed at helping international students attending a Finnish university to reduce their symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety, and enhance skills of psychological flexibility. The post-assessment was conducted seven weeks after the pre-measurement. Using data from 53 participants, an evaluation indicated that statistically and clinically significant reductions in symptoms were observed, and the workshop was well received. Regression analyses revealed that changes in psychological inflexibility, mindfulness, and value-based living acted as predictors of change in symptoms. Furthermore, changes in these psychological skills predicted changes in different kinds of distress. This study suggests that a brief group intervention might be a feasible alternative for enhancing the psychological well-being of international students
Acceptance and commitment therapy · Anxiety · Distress · Mental health · Mindfulness · Psychiatry · Psychological distress · Psychological intervention · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Psychology
Acceptance and commitment therapy.
Psychological inflexibility in childhood and adolescence
The empirical status of acceptance and commitment therapy
Loneliness and International Students
Addressing the Mental Health Concerns of International Students
The Prevalence of Elevated Psychological Distress Among Canadian Undergraduates
Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples
A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Clinically Relevant Mental and Physical Health Problems
Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program
Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness
A Brief Measure for Assessing Generalized Anxiety Disorder
The PHQ-9
Promoting university students’ well-being and studying with an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based intervention
The PHQ-15
Flexibly and/or inflexibly embracing life
Examining the relationship between public speaking anxiety, distress tolerance and psychological flexibility
Examining psychological inflexibility as a transdiagnostic process across psychological disorders
Chinese international student stress and coping
Psychological inflexibility as it relates to stress, worry, generalized anxiety, and somatization in an ethnically diverse sample of college students
The relationship between value-based actions, psychological distress and well-being
Self-Critical Perfectionism, Acculturative Stress, and Depression Among International Students
A Global Measure of Perceived Stress
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |