Abstract

Mental health is a growing concern in the university student population. University wellbeing services have seen an increase in demand, and statistics showing the number of students who have taken their own lives led to a public response calling for more support for students. The Student Minds charity has worked with the UK government to implement the University Mental Health Charter. This charter is making a positive impact on institutions adopting a whole university approach to mental health needs, yet little is known about students’ experience of having a mental health problem and accessing support whilst at university.

A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to explore students’ lived experience of having a mental health problem and seeking support for their mental health needs whilst at university. Sixteen individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with students who had used or were currently using a university mental health and wellbeing service. Interviews were transcribed, and NVIVO was used to develop the emerging themes. van Manen's six-step reflective approach to analysis and Merleau-Ponty’s four lifeworld existentials were used to interpret the data set.

Findings are presented which illuminate the students experience of help for their mental health problems. Three temporal moments of ‘pre-encounter’, ‘encounter’, and ‘post-encounter’ of mental health support services are presented. Within each of these temporal moments, Merleau-Ponty’s interpretive lenses of temporality, corporeality, spatiality, and relationality were used to develop sub-themes and a deeper level of meaning. The sub-themes that came from using the interpretive lens, temporality included “its now or never’ ‘readiness to seek help, ‘students’ high expectations’ and ‘waiting’. The lens of corporality included, ‘a weight has been lifted’, ‘self-stigma’, ‘identity’ and ‘transition’. Spatiality illuminated the ‘therapeutic landscape’, ‘the library’, and ‘virtual space’. Finally, the lens of relationality found ‘person centeredness’, the ‘role of the personal tutor’, ‘family and culture’, ‘peers’ and a ‘sense of belonging’.
These findings highlight the mental health support wanted and required by university students does not solely come from university wellbeing services. The course tutors, friends and family had huge relevance in the help-seeking journey of those who required mental health support. The physical environment where help was delivered played a significant part in the help seeking journey. This study also highlighted how the expectations of younger generations of students are shaping the future of education and how the consumerist approach is adding to these expectations.

This study has made a unique contribution to knowledge in several ways. It has delved into the lived experience of students with mental health problems and seeking support while at university, a perspective that has not been explored in existing literature. The findings have been underpinned by the three temporal moments that all the participants experienced. The findings create new knowledge in three central temporal moments. They provide a unique understanding and insight into the students' experiences at university and the impact their friends, family, and tutors have on their university experience. Second, the use of van Manen's framework and Merleau-Ponty's four lifeworld existentials, offers original insights into how time, space, relationships and bodily responses affect students’ access to, and experiences of support. Using van Manen's guidance and the reflective pillars of Merleau-Ponty's work has provided an effective combination to aid phenomenological interpretation.

These insights support key implications for practice including, enhancing mental health literacy via mental health awareness training for staff and students, manging student expectations early, developing better connections with NHS services, involving family and peers in support and adopting an open disclosure policy.