Building Mental Health Resilience in Schools: A Quasi-experimental Study of Digital Counseling Training for Secondary Teachers in Thailand
| Author | Bovornpot Choompunuch | en |
| Author | Wipanee Suk-erb | en |
| Author | Naphat Wuttaphan | en |
| Author | Phamornpun Yurayat | en |
| Orcid | Bovornpot Choompunuch [0000-0002-4309-9608] | en |
| Orcid | Wipanee Suk-erb [0000-0001-7130-0295] | en |
| Orcid | Naphat Wuttaphan [0000-0003-2325-6415] | en |
| Orcid | Phamornpun Yurayat [0000-0002-5773-4756] | en |
| Issued Date | 2026-03-31 | en |
| Abstract | Background: Amid rising concerns about student mental health in the post-COVID-19 era, school systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries, face major challenges in providing timely psychological support. Teachers often serve as frontline providers, yet most lack formal training in digital counseling methods required in online or hybrid learning environments. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an Online Counseling Competencies Training Program (OCCTP) for improving the digital counseling skills of secondary school advisory teachers in Thailand. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a pre-test/post-test and a comparison group was used. Sixty teachers were recruited and evenly assigned to an intervention or control group. The intervention group received a nine-session online training program covering adaptive counseling techniques, digital ethics, and secure technology platforms. Counseling competencies were assessed using the validated Online Counseling Competencies Scale (OCCS) at three time points: pre-intervention, post-intervention, and three-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: The intervention group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in digital counseling competencies between pre- and post-test (P < 0.001), with sustained effects at follow-up. No significant improvements were observed in the control group. Improvements included enhanced skills in online empathy, ethical practice, and technology use. Conclusion: The OCCTP effectively enhances teacher competencies for digital mental health support and may be integrated into professional development frameworks to strengthen school-based mental health services. Its scalability offers potential for broader implementation in low-resource educational settings. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5812/ijpbs-166285 | en |
| Keyword | Counseling Psychology Education | en |
| Keyword | Mental Health Services | en |
| Keyword | School Health Services | en |
| Keyword | Telemedicine in Psychiatry | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Building Mental Health Resilience in Schools: A Quasi-experimental Study of Digital Counseling Training for Secondary Teachers in Thailand | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |
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