Tickell, Alice;
(2022)
Help-Seeking In University Students Experiencing Suicidal Thoughts And Self-Harm.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis explores the topic of mental health help-seeking in university students experiencing suicidal ideation and self-harm. Help-seeking is defined as seeking or accessing care from formal and informal sources of help. Part 1 is a systematic review, involving a narrative synthesis of 19 studies on the rates and sources of help-seeking, and factors associated with help-seeking in students with a history of suicidal thoughts or self-harm. At least half of students did not seek or receive help for their mental health while at university. Ten factors affecting help-seeking were identified and discussed. There was a paucity of qualitative studies on students who had self-harmed. Part 2 is an empirical study, examining the help-seeking experiences of students who had self-harmed while at a large London university. This was a joint project with Katalin Hajdú (KH). Qualitative interviews explored students’ journeys, facilitators, and barriers to accessing support. A reflexive thematic analysis identified four over-arching themes: “The beginning of university was the hardest part”, “My mental health problems needed to be severe”, “Escaping judgement, worry, and repercussions from others”, and “Choice and flexibility of treatment supported recovery”. Implications for mental health service provision and configuration are discussed. This part of the thesis contains accounts of students’ views on self-harm which some people may find distressing or triggering. Part 3 is a critical appraisal of the process of conducting this research, focussing on how the author’s various social identities shaped the project and how they approached various methodological challenges.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | Help-Seeking In University Students Experiencing Suicidal Thoughts And Self-Harm |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10155946 |
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