The therapeutic accord: The impact of subjective religiosity on the utilization of mental health services among college students

This research involved the use of secondary data obtained from the 2021 Healthy Minds Survey involving students from 140 US colleges and universities. A total of 132,261 students responded to the initial research question, How important is religion in your life? This research sought an answer to the question: Do high levels of subjective religiosity negate participation in counseling or therapy? Of the 37,669 students indicating current participation in counseling, 52% identified religion as very important or important and more than 90% described counseling/therapy as helpful. A statistically significant relationship between high levels of subjective religiosity and current participation in mental health counseling was revealed. Study findings revealed that high levels of subjective religiosity may coexist with participation in mental health counseling. This phenomenon was identified as a "therapeutic accord", a nexus between religious values and beliefs and the need for secular interventions. Opportunities for collaboration and implications for future research are presented.