Students’ mental health has increasingly become a critical issue in general education in the context of rising academic pressure, social challenges, and the growing impact of the digital environment. This study aims to identify and quantify the effects of various factors on the effectiveness of school psychological counseling services in general education schools in Nghe An province. Data were collected from 182 participants, including 54 administrators and 128 teachers from 18 lower secondary and upper secondary schools. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships between five groups of factors—policy and institutional development; development of counseling staff; provision of facilities; enhancement of coordination among school-family-community; and the application of technology in school counseling—and the effectiveness of school psychological counseling services. The results indicate that four factors, namely counseling staff development, policy and...
Students’ mental health has increasingly become a critical issue in general education in the context of rising academic pressure, social challenges, and the growing impact of the digital environment. This study aims to identify and quantify the effects of various factors on the effectiveness of school psychological counseling services in general education schools in Nghe An province. Data were collected from 182 participants, including 54 administrators and 128 teachers from 18 lower secondary and upper secondary schools. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships between five groups of factors—policy and institutional development; development of counseling staff; provision of facilities; enhancement of coordination among school-family-community; and the application of technology in school counseling—and the effectiveness of school psychological counseling services. The results indicate that four factors, namely counseling staff development, policy and institutional development, facilities, and stakeholder coordination, have positive and statistically significant impacts on the effectiveness of school psychological counseling services, with counseling staff development exerting the strongest effect. Meanwhile, the application of technology and digital transformation does not show a statistically significant impact in the research context. Based on the empirical findings, several policy implications are proposed to improve the effectiveness of school psychological counseling services in general education schools in Nghe An province.