From psychological wellbeing to distress: the role of psychological counseling interventions in university students

Self-Acceptance (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and Environmental Mastery (<i>p</i> = 0.037) dimensions significantly predicted lower psychological distress. Academic engagement did not mediate the relationship between wellbeing and distress. Post-intervention, psychological distress decreased significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001), with 56.7% of students falling over the clinical distress cut-off at T1 compared to 84.4% at T0. The Autonomy (<i>p</i> = 0.03) and Self-Acceptance (<i>p</i> = 0.002) dimensions showed significant post-intervention improvements. The current study emphasizes that mental health is a dynamic, multidimensional construct, including both psychological distress and wellbeing. Universities should integrate positive psychology into curricula and expand psychological counseling services to provide proactive support, focusing on resilience, stress management, and emotional regulation.