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

Research demonstrating student mental distress typically focuses on mental wellbeing by combining questionnaire responses from students studying a variety of disciplines (see Ibrahim et al., 2013; Bewick et al., 2010). Consequently, little is known about how student mental health varies as a function of specific degree programmes. 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 twenty undergraduate psychology students with mental health difficulties from a large UK University. Thematic analysis showed that previous mental health problems were a significant 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 support from a range of University support networks. Findings can be used to inform policy changes to improve these students’ university experiences.