“Counseling-Verse”: A Survey of Young Adults from Faith-Based Educational Institution on the Implementation of Future Mental Health Services in the Metaverse

Abstract

Objective: Pastoral care in mental health interventions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (such as lockdowns) put people's mental health and emotional well-being at jeopardy, especially today's young people. Because of their extensive use of screen-mediated solitary social media mixed with inadequate face-to-face interpersonal skills, they are more sensitive to mental health disorders such as loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Pastoral counseling treatments using Metaverse (aka “counseling-verse”), according to the authors, might become one of the most useful treatments available today. Methods: The research method uses a quantitative approach with survey methods in collecting subject data, with a total of 143 young people participants. Results: Main findings were fivefold: (i) The majority of young people today know very well what the Metaverse is. (ii) The majority of young people have a positive view of the existence of the Metaverse, that they perceive this as something unique and as a technological development. (iii) The majority of young people agree with the counseling service at Metaverse. (iv) The reason they agree is because this counseling service at Metaverse can be a surefire solution to their current problems. (v) The majority of young people choose the type of individual counseling services and consultations on all mental health services provided on Metaverse. Significance of the Results: Based on the results of the research that has been carried out, it can be concluded that the pastoral counseling service at the Metaverse is one type of appropriate intervention and is the choice for young people today. Through this "counseling-verse" it is hoped that it can be a surefire solution to help young people who experience mental health issues such as loneliness, anxiety, and depression; as a result of public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (such as lockdowns).