The effect of spiritual counseling and psychological counseling programs on the emotional well-being of middle school (6th grade) students: A quasi-experimental study

This article compares two structured school interventions — a spiritual counseling program and a psychological counseling program — both aimed at the emotional well-being of middle school students. Forty-four sixth graders (22 per group) at a public middle school in Kızıltepe, Mardin, took part during the 2025–2026 academic year under a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest comparison-group model. One group received the eight-week spiritual counseling program; the other received its psychological counterpart, matched in length and session structure. Scores on the Stirling Children's Well-being Scale were analyzed with independent and paired samples t-tests, one-way ANCOVA, and gain score analyses. Emotional well-being rose significantly in both groups, and the spiritual counseling group showed a greater mean improvement: a posttest mean of M = 48.27 against M = 43.91, and Cohen's d = .960 against d = .496. The group difference survived the control for pretest scores in the ANCOVA (F(1, 41) = 5.622, p = .023, partial η² = .121), yet the direct gain score comparison stayed below significance (p = .113). The findings therefore provide preliminary evidence for the potential value of culturally responsive spiritual counseling rather than establishing its superiority, and they support treating the two approaches as complementary supports within school-based guidance services.