Impact of a depression counseling intervention on student pharmacists' confidence and comfortability: A pilot study

Abstract Introduction The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a mental health educational intervention on pharmacy students' confidence and comfortability when engaging in depression counseling. Methods Third-year pharmacy students completed two 15-item rating scales addressing confidence and comfortability about depression. The intervention was 2.5 hours long and included a depression overview, consumer educator presentation, motivational interviewing, and case studies. Surveys were administered at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and three months post intervention. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests and repeated measures analyses. Results Of the 23 students who participated in the intervention, 12 (52.2%) completed the three-month follow-up. Confidence increased significantly (p  Conclusion Pharmacy students' depression counseling confidence and comfortability improved and was sustained after a 2.5-hour intervention with motivational interviewing, consumer education, and case studies.