alexa.luana@e-uvt.ro
Luana M. Alexa1*, Andrei Rusu1
1 Department of Psychology, West University of Timișoara, Romania
Abstract
Increasing self-esteem through an online intervention may be essential for students’ psychological well-being and academic performance. Based on Melanie Fennell’s cognitive model (1997, 2016), this study investigates the feasibility of an online intervention program aimed at improving students’ self-esteem. After completing online screening, 33 students (Mage = 22 years, SDage = 6.75; 70% females) with low or medium levels of self-esteem participated in this open-label uncontrolled pilot trial. The primary outcome measure was the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). As part of the intervention program, we utilized psychoeducation and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Furthermore, due to the pandemic context in which the intervention’s feasibility was tested, we delivered the intervention online, in working groups. Following this five-week program, participants exhibited higher levels of explicit self-esteem (d = .74) and lower levels of depression and anxiety as secondary outcomes (d = .46 for depression and d = .48 for anxiety). Despite inherent limitations, these results provide initial evidence supporting the feasibility of an online working group intervention aimed at improving students’ self-esteem.
Keywords: Self-esteem, Internet-delivered intervention, Anxiety, Depression, Working groups
Please cite this article as:
Luana, M. A., & Rusu, A. (2026). Improving students’ self-esteem with an online group intervention based on the Fennell Model: an open-label, uncontrolled feasibility trial. Journal of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies, 26(1), 163-190.
DOI: 10.24193/jebp.2026.1.8
Published online: 2026/03/01
Published print: 2026/03/01
