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Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling
Published on: January 17, 2025
Psychiatric comorbidities among undergraduate and graduate students attending spiritual-mind-body interventions
Micheline R Anderson1,2, Suza C Scalora1,3, Abigail Crete1
1Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
Objective:
This study examined rates of positive screens for depression and posttraumatic stress and their comorbidity among undergraduate (N = 77) and graduate (N = 136) students who participated in on-campus Spiritual-Mind-Body (SMB) wellness interventions.
Methods:
Participants completed the PHQ-9 and the PCL-C before starting an 8-week in-person SMB wellness intervention. Elevated depression was indicated by a score of ≥10 on the PHQ-9; elevated posttraumatic stress (PTS) was indicated by a score of ≥30 on the PCL-C.
Results:
There were unexpectedly high rates of posttraumatic stress among both undergraduate (39%) and graduate (32%) students without the presence of comorbid depression. A small minority of students experienced depression apart from elevated PTS symptoms. Overall, students reported high levels of clinically relevant psychopathology.
Conclusion:
On-campus wellness centers may offer an appropriate setting for the screening of trauma-related distress and depression and their comorbidity to address the psychiatric concerns of SMB wellness-seeking students.
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