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Career decision‐making significantly impacts high school students' academic and career trajectories. Although career interventions are recognized as important, gaps persist, particularly in programs targeting Chinese high school students and the inconsistent findings on gender differences. This study evaluated the effects of career courses and group counseling on Chinese high school students. Study 1 assessed the impact of a career course on 308 first‐year high school students. The course increased self‐efficacy but did not reduce career decision‐making difficulties. Notably, gender differences were observed: male students reported increased difficulties, while female students showed a decreasing trend. Study 2 combined a career course with group counseling. The combined intervention significantly reduced career decision‐making difficulties, with no gender differences. These findings suggest that career courses boost self‐efficacy but adding group counseling helps address career decision‐making difficulties. Our study also highlights the need for gender‐responsive strategies.

The study aims to examine the effects of cognitive behavioral psychological group counseling program on the psychological resilience and emotional flexibility of adolescents. Twenty-eight adolescents were randomly assigned to the experiment group and control group. The Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale and Emotional Flexibility Scale were administered as data collection tools. In the research, 12 sessions of a cognitive behavioral psychological group counseling program were practiced with the experiment group once a week. As for the control group, no practice was undergone. A 2 × 3 experimental design was used in the research. After the research was finalized, the posttest was performed, and follow-up measurements were carried out two months later. Adolescents in the experiment group demonstrated significant improvements in psychological resilience and emotional flexibility and these improvements were maintained at follow-up compared to those in the control group. This study highlights the effectiveness of the cognitive behavioral psychological group counseling program in improving psychological resilience and emotional flexibility among adolescents.

A growing body of literature illustrates the benefits of online groups for clients, but few studies have examined counselors’ experience facilitating such groups, particularly in regard to counselor work with clients of differing sociodemographic traits. In this study, graduate-level counseling students facilitated two psychoeducational college counseling groups via an online platform. Groups were tailored for Black and/or African American first-generation college students (FGCS) enrolled in urban high schools. Facilitator experiences using an online platform and counseling across sociodemographic variables were explored. Themes included barriers to cohesion building, difficulty of power/oppression discussions via a virtual setting, and adjusting tactics and expectations.

Although many studies have found the effect of group counseling on enhancement of meaning in life, few studies have employed the class group counseling in life education. The present study assessed the effect of class group counseling on life education for undergraduate students. Two classes from a Chinese university were randomly allocated into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received class group counseling for 1.5 months. The intervention and control groups completed the meaning in life questionnaire (MLQ), the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS), and the positive affect and negative affect scales (PANAS) before and after the intervention. The results showed that the intervention improved students’ life satisfaction, positive affect, and presence of meaning, and decreased negative affect. These findings indicated that class group counseling could play an important role in the life education of undergraduate students. The current study extends our understanding of improving mental health and preventing suicide for undergraduate students.

This study investigates the effect of an emotion-focused group counseling program (EFGCP) on the emotional awareness and psychological well-being of divorced women. It also investigates their opinions regarding its effectiveness. This mixed-method study used a real experimental design with a 2 × 3 pretest–post-test control group with follow-up tests. It administered 16 EFGCP sessions to the experimental group and collected quantitative data from the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale and Psychological Well-being Scale and qualitative data from client and group leader diaries and focus group interview forms. The quantitative data were analyzed using a mixed 2 × 3 repeated-measure analysis of variance, while the qualitative data were examined using content analysis. Quantitative findings showed that EFGCP increased the emotional awareness levels of divorced women in the experimental group compared with those in the control group. This effect continued for 3 months, and while it improved their psychological well-being, the improvement was not significant. Meanwhile, qualitative results were grouped under two categories: “contribution” and “emotion-focused group counseling.” The contribution category included four themes, namely, emotional awareness, psychological well-being, adaptation after divorce, and metaphors. However, the emotion-focused group counseling category included techniques, group leader, and recommendations for group structure themes. Implications for further research and practice are discussed in light of the literature.

The group counseling approach in education helps students acquire hands-on experience through experiential learning strategies. This study employed a pretest-posttest, quasiexperimental design. The participants included 121 students enrolled in part-time undergraduate social work programs who were assigned to an experimental group or a comparison group; the experimental group ( n  = 82) rated their experiences with the group counseling teaching approach. The data from the experimental group were compared with those from the comparison group ( n  = 39), which was taught using a lecture method approach. Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors Inventory, the Mirror Effect Inventory, and the Group Counseling Education Questionnaire were used to measure changes in the participants. The results showed that the group counseling teaching approach was significantly associated with positive mirror effects. The results further indicated that the positive mirror effects were attributable to the group counseling teaching approach and mediated by four therapeutic factors, namely, universality, imparting of information, catharsis, and imitative behavior. The findings of this study demonstrate that the elements of this approach facilitate and enhance the therapeutic effects of group counseling education.

Previous studies have revealed the effect of locus of control on academic engagement and achievement motivation, but the role that achievement motivation plays in the relationship between the other two variables for Chinese adolescents has remained unclear. We conducted two studies to explore this issue. In Study 1 we used standardized scales to measure locus of control (Internal-External Control Scale), academic engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student), and achievement motivation (Achievement Motivation Scale) among 1,811 middle school students. In Study 2 we intervened in the participants' achievement motivation by way of group counseling to further check the effect on their academic engagement. We randomly recruited 64 students from the same school for control and experimental groups and constructed a relationship model among the three variables of locus of control, academic engagement, and achievement motivation. Results demonstrated that intervention in achievement motivation can effectively enhance the academic engagement of middle school students.

In this study, the impact of an online cognitive-behavioral group counselling program on anxiety, depression, stress, and resilience was examined among earthquake survivors who experienced the Turkey earthquake centered in Maraş on February 6, 2023. This study was conducted using 3 × 3 randomized controlled experimental design with three groups: online, face-to-face, and a wait-list control group. The study included 83 adult earthquake survivors. Data collection tools consisted of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Brief Resilience Scale. The online group received an 8 sessions cognitive-behavioural group counselling program conducted online, while the face-to-face group received the same program in a face-to-face setting. After the post-test measurements, the wait-list control group also received the same program online. The research findings indicated that the groups receiving the cognitive-behavioral group counseling program, whether online or face-to-face, showed a decrease in anxiety, depression, and stress levels, as well as an increase in resilience levels compared to the wait-list group. After being included in the program, participants in the wait-list group also experienced a decrease in anxiety, depression, and stress levels, along with an increase in resilience levels. However, during the follow-up measurements, there were no significant differences found in anxiety, depression, stress, and resilience scores among the three groups. The research findings demonstrate that an online cognitive behavioral group counseling program is as effective as a face-to-face program in reducing anxiety, depression, and stress levels, and increasing resilience levels among earthquake survivors. These findings are significant in providing an alternative method for individuals who do not have access to face-to-face counseling programs.

Given the sociopolitical climate of schools today and multiple crises, school counselors are poised to center healing engagement, antiracist education, and social emotional learning through group counseling. Therefore, counselor education programs must prepare and train social justice‐engaged school counselors with advanced group knowledge and skills to fuel the success of all P‐12 schools. This manuscript specifically explores the extent to which school counselors use the lens of power, privilege, and intersectionality within the screening, planning, implementation, and evaluation of small groups. Results indicate while school counselors are facilitating small group counseling, contradictions exist in training and school counselors’ implementation of small groups from the lens of power, privilege, and intersectionality to promote social justice and antiracist practices in schools. School counselors perceive they were trained in small group counseling from the lens of power, privilege, and intersectionality, however, they reported that they do not implement group counseling from the same lens.

This study explores the intricate relationship between psychological resilience and academic emotions in urban primary school students, highlighting the transformative effects of cognitive behavioral group counseling (CBGC) on enhancing resilience. Conducted in Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China, the research involved 575 students from five schools, utilizing questionnaires adapted from standard psychological instruments to assess their psychological resilience and academic emotions. Our findings reveal that robust psychological resilience significantly increases positive academic emotions ( t  = 0.374, 0.591, P  < 0.01) and decreases negative ones ( t = -0.541, -0.664, P  < 0.01). Furthering our investigation, 36 students were selected and divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received a tailored CBGC program aimed at bolstering psychological resilience, while the control group engaged in after-school sports. The CBGC intervention, customized with culturally relevant content, age-appropriate language, and engaging activities, showed a significant post-intervention improvement in the experimental group’s psychological resilience ( t  = 2.546, P  < 0.05) and positive academic emotions ( t  = 2.546, 3.607, P  < 0.01), alongside a notable reduction in negative emotions ( t =-3.761,-2.038, P  < 0.05).This study underscores the symbiotic relationship between psychological resilience and academic emotions among urban primary school students and demonstrates the efficacy of CBGC in fostering emotional balance and resilience. These insights have profound implications for educators and psychologists dedicated to nurturing a well-rounded and emotionally resilient student body. Trial Registration This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) on February 10, 2023, with registration number ChiCTR2300061594.