Effects of technological issues on session evaluation in metaverse counseling: The role of psychological symptoms using HLM analysis

The main objective of this study was to examine the role of psychological symptoms in the relationship between technological issues and session evaluation within the context of metaverse counseling. Evaluating the effectiveness of sessions within virtual counseling environments and understanding how psychological factors influence clients’ sensitivity to technological issues during these sessions seemed important. Dataset comprising 148 sessions with 25 South Korean clients and 6 counselors was used for analysis. The findings indicated that technological issues negatively influenced each session's evaluation (between session levels), but these issues did not significantly affect the overall session evaluation among clients (between-client levels). Interestingly, clients with more severe psychological symptoms tended to be less satisfied with each counseling session when faced with more technological difficulties than clients who faced fewer psychological symptoms. The theoretical and practical implications of this study were further discussed, along with suggestions for future research.