279. The role of psychological counseling group therapy in shaping the career abilities of college students

Abstract Background In recent years, group psychological counseling based on positive psychology and career construction theory has been regarded as an effective path to enhance college students' career abilities due to its advantages in providing social support and promoting cognitive restructuring. However, existing research focuses more on single skills or short-term effects, without considering the analysis of college students' career abilities from this perspective. Therefore, a thorough analysis of the role of psychological counseling teams in shaping the career abilities of college students is needed. The research aims to explore a feasible intervention method for college career education. Methods A study selected 120 students who met the criteria to participate in a test at a certain university. Randomly divided into intervention group and control group, with 60 people in each group. The testing period is 10 weeks, during which the control group does not receive any psychological intervention treatment. The intervention group received a 60 minute group counseling session once a week. The group is divided into 4 small groups, each consisting of 15 people, led by professional psychological counselors. The group program is designed based on positive psychology and career construction theory. The measurement indicators include the Career Adaptation Abilities Scale (CAAS) and the Career Decision Making Self Efficiency Scale Sport Form (CDMSE-SF). The evaluation time is one week before the intervention, one week after the intervention, and three months after the intervention. Results One week before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences (p>.05) in gender, grade, CAAS total score, CDMSE-SF total score, and group atmosphere scale score between the intervention group and the control group, indicating successful randomization and comparability between the two groups. The CAAS scores of the intervention group one week and three months after the intervention were significantly higher than those of the previous week (p<.001), and significantly higher than those of the control group during the same period (p<.001). There was no significant change in the three time points within the control group. The CDMSE-SF total score of the intervention group showed a significant improvement (p<.001) one week and three months after the intervention, and was significantly higher than that of the control group during the same period (p<.01). Multi level linear model analysis shows that the perceived group cohesion and interpersonal learning level of members can positively predict the rate of improvement in their career adaptability and career decision-making self-efficacy during the intervention period (p<.01). Discussion Psychological counseling group therapy based on positive psychology and career construction theory can effectively promote the comprehensive improvement of college students' career adaptability and decision-making self-efficacy, and the effect has good sustainability. This method can be used as a standardized and manual intervention tool for university psychological counseling centers or employment guidance departments. Future research could adopt more refined physiological or cognitive neural measurements to further analyze the impact of psychological counseling group therapy on career decision-making related brain function.