The mental health of clients receiving their first therapy at a university clinic

Abstract

After more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the changes it brought have affected the mental health of people; those who have acknowledged having a psychological problem have attended psychology clinics to get their services. There are no studies in El Salvador which can show an evaluation of the mental health of those clients visiting specialized clinics, therefore, it is important to obtain empirical data on this topic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mental health of clients receiving psychological assistance at clinics that specialize in this field. This was an exploratory study with a prospective transversal design; a nonprobabilistic intentional sampling was used. 51 clients receiving their first session were evaluated. Data was collected by means of a survey. Results showed that it is women who mostly visit clinics offering psychological assistance. There is a high prevalence of symptoms affecting the mental health of individuals who have attended their first therapy session. More than half of the clients showed gravity levels ranging between moderate to severe in regards to their mental health; no statistical differences were found in relation to gender, age, employment status or area of residence.