A qualitative exploration of the unique barriers, challenges and experiences encountered by undergraduate psychology students with mental health problems

ABSTRACT

Research demonstrating student mental distress typically focuses on mental wellbeing by combining questionnaire responses from students studying a variety of disciplines [see Ibrahim, A. K., S. J. Kelly, C. E. Adams, and C. Glazebrook. 2013. “A Systematic Review of Studies of Depression Prevalence in University Students.” Journal of Psychiatric Research 47 (3): 391–400; Bewick, B., G. Koutsopoulou, J. Miles, E. Slaa, and M. Barkham. 2010. “Changes in Undergraduate Students’ Psychological Well-being as they Progress Through University.” Studies in Higher Education 35 (6): 633–645]. Little is known about how student mental health varies as a function of degree type. Psychology students are of interest here, as Psychology is one of few degrees where mental health is a topic of study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 undergraduate psychology students with mental health difficulties from a UK University. Thematic analysis showed that previous mental health problems were a motivator for studying psychology. The delivery of taught mental health content exacerbated pre-existing symptoms, induced concern and challenged perceptions of treatments. Students also experienced unique challenges when accessing a variety of University support networks. Findings can be used to inform policy changes to improve these students’ university experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• University students
• mental health
• help-seeking
• psychology
• undergraduates

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the students who participated and Dr Filippo Varese, the Clinical Psychologist employed on the project for student’s welfare.

Author contributions

DLC and SS conceived the idea for, and gained funding to support the study. DLC, SS and VGW refined the study design and gained ethics approval. CH and VGW recruited participants. CH interviewed the participants. VGW conducted primary data analysis under DLC’s supervision. VGW led the writing of the manuscript. DLC, SS and CH provided feedback and edits to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript sent for publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a University of Manchester, School of Psychological Sciences ‘Teaching and Learning’ fund.