The Effectiveness of a Cognitive Psychological Counseling Program in Enhancing Psychological Recovery and Coping with Trauma and Social Challenges among Youth

Abstract

The current research aims to identify the effect of a cognitive counseling approach in enhancing psychological recovery among youth in facing societal shocks and challenges by testing three hypotheses. The researchers adopted the experimental method for this study and will construct the research instrument: a Psychological Recovery Scale consisting of three domains and 21 items. The research population was defined as male and female youth in the community, with a research sample of 200 individuals. Additionally, a program sample of 20 students who obtained the lowest scores on the Psychological Recovery Scale—compared to the hypothetical mean—was selected and distributed into an experimental group and a control group.

After administering the scale, determining the counseling needs of the sample, and specifying the experimental design of the program, ten counseling sessions were developed based on the theoretical framework, applying techniques and activities of the counseling approach adopted by the researchers. Appropriate statistical methods (one-sample and two-sample t-tests, the Mann-Whitney test, and the Wilcoxon test) were used to analyze the data. The results, after statistically analyzing and interpreting the three hypotheses, indicated an increase in the level of psychological recovery among the counselees in the experimental group, which positively reflected on their mental health. These individuals had been exposed to psychological shocks, pressures, and challenges in their daily lives, and they were the ones who received the counseling program. These findings indicate the success of the counseling program using the cognitive counseling approach, and demonstrate that the counseling methods, techniques, and strategies contributed to supporting psychological recovery and achieving positive mental health.