Exploratory study of attitudes towards counselling among medical students in India

ABSTRACT The process of professional development during the course of medical education is frequently faced with stressors and setbacks in academic, personal, familial and social domains. The present research explored the attitudes, barriers and perceived benefits of counselling services among 692 undergraduate medical students using the Counselling Need Assessment Questionnaire. It was found that 50% of the participants accepted that there was a need for counselling for both themselves as well as for friends and 75% also felt that that mild stress could be relieved with the help of counselling. The barriers that students faced for approaching counselling services as well as the perceived areas of benefits were also explored.