phd topics in mental health

Research Topics & Ideas: Mental Health

100+ Mental Health Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring mental health topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of mental health-related research topics and ideas.

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Mental Health Topic Ideas

• Mood disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Psychotic disorders
• Personality disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Eating disorders
• Substance-related disorders

Mood Disorders

Research in mood disorders can help understand their causes and improve treatment methods. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• The impact of genetics on the susceptibility to depression
• Efficacy of antidepressants vs. cognitive behavioural therapy
• The role of gut microbiota in mood regulation
• Cultural variations in the experience and diagnosis of bipolar disorder
• Seasonal Affective Disorder: Environmental factors and treatment
• The link between depression and chronic illnesses
• Exercise as an adjunct treatment for mood disorders
• Hormonal changes and mood swings in postpartum women
• Stigma around mood disorders in the workplace
• Suicidal tendencies among patients with severe mood disorders

Anxiety Disorders

Research topics in this category can potentially explore the triggers, coping mechanisms, or treatment efficacy for anxiety disorders.

• The relationship between social media and anxiety
• Exposure therapy effectiveness in treating phobias
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder in children: Early signs and interventions
• The role of mindfulness in treating anxiety
• Genetics and heritability of anxiety disorders
• The link between anxiety disorders and heart disease
• Anxiety prevalence in LGBTQ+ communities
• Caffeine consumption and its impact on anxiety levels
• The economic cost of untreated anxiety disorders
• Virtual Reality as a treatment method for anxiety disorders

Psychotic Disorders

Within this space, your research topic could potentially aim to investigate the underlying factors and treatment possibilities for psychotic disorders.

• Early signs and interventions in adolescent psychosis
• Brain imaging techniques for diagnosing psychotic disorders
• The efficacy of antipsychotic medication
• The role of family history in psychotic disorders
• Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment of psychotic disorders
• Co-morbidity of psychotic and mood disorders
• The relationship between substance abuse and psychotic disorders
• Art therapy as a treatment for schizophrenia
• Public perception and stigma around psychotic disorders
• Hospital vs. community-based care for psychotic disorders

Personality Disorders

Research topics within in this area could delve into the identification, management, and social implications of personality disorders.

• Long-term outcomes of borderline personality disorder
• Antisocial personality disorder and criminal behaviour
• The role of early life experiences in developing personality disorders
• Narcissistic personality disorder in corporate leaders
• Gender differences in personality disorders
• Diagnosis challenges for Cluster A personality disorders
• Emotional intelligence and its role in treating personality disorders
• Psychotherapy methods for treating personality disorders
• Personality disorders in the elderly population
• Stigma and misconceptions about personality disorders

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Within this space, research topics could focus on the causes, symptoms, or treatment of disorders like OCD and hoarding.

• OCD and its relationship with anxiety disorders
• Cognitive mechanisms behind hoarding behaviour
• Deep Brain Stimulation as a treatment for severe OCD
• The impact of OCD on academic performance in students
• Role of family and social networks in treating OCD
• Alternative treatments for hoarding disorder
• Childhood onset OCD: Diagnosis and treatment
• OCD and religious obsessions
• The impact of OCD on family dynamics
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Causes and treatment

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Research topics in this area could explore the triggers, symptoms, and treatments for PTSD. Here are some thought starters to get you moving.

• PTSD in military veterans: Coping mechanisms and treatment
• Childhood trauma and adult onset PTSD
• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) efficacy
• Role of emotional support animals in treating PTSD
• Gender differences in PTSD occurrence and treatment
• Effectiveness of group therapy for PTSD patients
• PTSD and substance abuse: A dual diagnosis
• First responders and rates of PTSD
• Domestic violence as a cause of PTSD
• The neurobiology of PTSD

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

This category of mental health aims to better understand disorders like Autism and ADHD and their impact on day-to-day life.

• Early diagnosis and interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder
• ADHD medication and its impact on academic performance
• Parental coping strategies for children with neurodevelopmental disorders
• Autism and gender: Diagnosis disparities
• The role of diet in managing ADHD symptoms
• Neurodevelopmental disorders in the criminal justice system
• Genetic factors influencing Autism
• ADHD and its relationship with sleep disorders
• Educational adaptations for children with neurodevelopmental disorders
• Neurodevelopmental disorders and stigma in schools

Eating Disorders

Research topics within this space can explore the psychological, social, and biological aspects of eating disorders.

• The role of social media in promoting eating disorders
• Family dynamics and their impact on anorexia
• Biological basis of binge-eating disorder
• Treatment outcomes for bulimia nervosa
• Eating disorders in athletes
• Media portrayal of body image and its impact
• Eating disorders and gender: Are men underdiagnosed?
• Cultural variations in eating disorders
• The relationship between obesity and eating disorders
• Eating disorders in the LGBTQ+ community

Substance-Related Disorders

Research topics in this category can focus on addiction mechanisms, treatment options, and social implications.

• Efficacy of rehabilitation centres for alcohol addiction
• The role of genetics in substance abuse
• Substance abuse and its impact on family dynamics
• Prescription drug abuse among the elderly
• Legalisation of marijuana and its impact on substance abuse rates
• Alcoholism and its relationship with liver diseases
• Opioid crisis: Causes and solutions
• Substance abuse education in schools: Is it effective?
• Harm reduction strategies for drug abuse
• Co-occurring mental health disorders in substance abusers

Choosing A Research Topic

These research topic ideas we’ve covered here serve as thought starters to help you explore different areas within mental health. They are intentionally very broad and open-ended. By engaging with the currently literature in your field of interest, you’ll be able to narrow down your focus to a specific research gap .

It’s important to consider a variety of factors when choosing a topic for your dissertation or thesis . Think about the relevance of the topic, its feasibility , and the resources available to you, including time, data, and academic guidance. Also, consider your own interest and expertise in the subject, as this will sustain you through the research process.

Always consult with your academic advisor to ensure that your chosen topic aligns with academic requirements and offers a meaningful contribution to the field. If you need help choosing a topic, consider our private coaching service.

Good morning everyone. This are very patent topics for research in neuroscience. Thank you for guidance

What if everything is important, original and intresting? as in Neuroscience. I find myself overwhelmd with tens of relveant areas and within each area many optional topics. I ask myself if importance (for example – able to treat people suffering) is more relevant than what intrest me, and on the other hand if what advance me further in my career should not also be a consideration?

This information is really helpful and have learnt alot

Phd research topics on implementation of mental health policy in Nigeria :the prospects, challenges and way forward.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

Mental Health, PhD

Bloomberg school of public health, phd program description.

The PhD program is designed to provide key knowledge and skill-based competencies in the field of public mental health. To gain the knowledge and skills, all PhD students will be expected to complete required coursework, including courses that meet the CEPH competency requirements and research ethics; successfully pass the departmental comprehensive exam; select and meet regularly with a Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) as part of advancing to doctoral candidacy; present a public seminar on their dissertation proposal; successfully pass the departmental and school-wide Preliminary Oral Exams; complete a doctoral thesis followed by a formal school-wide Final Oral Defense; participate as a Teaching Assistant (TA); and provide a formal public seminar on their own research.  Each of these components is described in more detail below. The Introduction to Online Learning course is taken before the start of the first term.

Department Organization

The PhD Program Director, Dr. Rashelle Musci ( [email protected] ), works with the Vice-Chair for Education, Dr. Judy Bass ( [email protected] ), to support doctoral students, together with their advisers, to formulate their academic plans; oversee their completion of ethics training; assist with connections to faculty who may serve as advisers or sources for data or special guidance; provide guidance to students in their roles as teaching assistants; and act as a general resource for all departmental doctoral students. The Vice-Chair also leads the Department Committee on Academic Standards and sits on the School Wide Academic Standards Committee. Students can contact Drs. Musci or Bass directly if they have questions or concerns.

Within the department structure, there are several standing and ad-hoc committees that oversee faculty and student research, practice and education. For specific questions on committee mandate and make-up, please contact Dr. Bass or the Academic Program Administrator, Patty Scott, [email protected] .

Academic Training Programs

The Department of Mental Health supports multiple NIH-funded doctoral and postdoctoral institutional training programs:

Psychiatric Epidemiology Training (PET) Program

This interdisciplinary doctoral and postdoctoral program is affiliated with the Department of Epidemiology and with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Medicine. The Program is co-directed by Dr. Peter Zandi ( [email protected] ) and Dr. Heather Volk ( [email protected] ). The goal of the program is to increase the epidemiologic expertise of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals and to increase the number of epidemiologists with the interest and capacity to study psychiatric disorders. Graduates are expected to undertake careers in research on the etiology, classification, distribution, course, and outcome of mental disorders and maladaptive behaviors. The Program is funded with a training grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Drug Dependence Epidemiology Training (DDET) Program

This training program is co-led by Dr. Renee M. Johnson ( [email protected] ) and Dr. Brion Maher ( [email protected] ). The DDET program is designed to train scientists in the area of substance use and substance use disorders. Research training within the DDET Program focuses on: (1) genetic, biological, social, and environmental factors associated with substance use, (2) medical and social consequences of drug use, including HIV/AIDS and violence, (3) co-morbid mental health problems, and (4) substance use disorder treatment and services. The DDET program is funded by the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse. The program supports both pre-doctoral and postdoctoral trainees. 

Global Mental Health Training (GMH) Program

The Global Mental Health Training (GMH) Program is a training program to provide public health research training in the field of Global Mental Health. It is housed in the Department of Mental Health , in collaboration with the Departments of International Health and Epidemiology. The GMH Program is supported by a T32 research training grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Judy Bass ( [email protected] ) is the training program director. As part of this training program, trainees will undertake a rigorous program of coursework in epidemiology, biostatistics, public mental health and global mental health, field-based research experiences, and integrative activities that will provide trainees with a solid foundation in the core proficiencies of global mental health while giving trainees the opportunity to pursue specialized training in one of three concentration areas that are recognized as high priority: (1) Prevention Research; (2) Intervention Research; or (3) Integration of Mental Health Services Research. This program supports pre- and post-doctoral trainees.

The Mental Health Services and Systems (MHSS) Program

The Mental Health Services and Systems (MHSS) program is an NIMH-funded T32 training program run jointly by the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Health Policy and Management and also has a close affiliation with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Elizabeth Stuart ( [email protected] ) is the training program directors.

The goal of the MHSS Program is to train scholars who will become leaders in mental health services and systems research. This program focuses on producing researchers who can address critical gaps in knowledge with a focus on: (1) how healthcare services, delivery settings, and financing systems affect the well-being of persons with mental illness; (2) how cutting-edge statistical and econometric methods can be used in intervention design, policies, and programs to improve care; and (3) how implementation science can be used to most effectively disseminate evidence-based advances into routine practice. The program strongly emphasizes the fundamental principles of research translation and dissemination throughout its curriculum.

For more details see this webpage .

Epidemiology and Biostatistics of Aging

This program offers training in the methodology and conduct of significant clinical- and population-based research in older adults. This training grant, funded by the National Institute on Aging, has the specific mission to prepare epidemiologists and biostatisticians who will be both leaders and essential members of the multidisciplinary research needed to define models of healthy, productive aging and the prevention and interventions that will accomplish this goal. The Associate Director of this program is Dr. Michelle Carlson ( [email protected]) .

The EBA training grant has as its aims:

• Train pre- and post-doctoral fellows by providing a structured program consisting of: a) course work, b) seminars and working groups, c) practica, d) directed multidisciplinary collaborative experience through a training program research project, and e) directed research.
• Ensure hands-on participation in multidisciplinary research bringing trainees together with infrastructure, mentors, and resources, thus developing essential skills and experience for launching their research careers.
• Provide in-depth knowledge in established areas of concentration, including a) the epidemiology and course of late-life disability, b) the epidemiology of chronic diseases common to older persons, c) cognition, d) social epidemiology, e) the molecular, epidemiological and statistical genetics of aging, f) measurement and analysis of complex gerontological outcomes (e.g, frailty), and g) analysis of longitudinal and survival data.
• Expand the areas of emphasis to which trainees are exposed by developing new training opportunities in: a) clinical trials; b) causal inference; c) screening and prevention; and d) frailty and the integration of longitudinal physiologic investigation into epidemiology.
• Integrate epidemiology and biostatistics training to form a seamless, synthesized approach whose result is greater than the sum of its parts, to best prepare trainees to tackle aging-related research questions.

These aims are designed to provide the fields of geriatrics and gerontology with epidemiologists and biostatisticians who have an appreciation for and understanding of the public health and scientific issues in human aging, and who have the experience collaborating across disciplines that is essential to high-quality research on aging. More information can be found at: https://coah.jhu.edu/graduate-programs-and-postdoctoral-training/epidemiology-and-biostatistics-of-aging/ .

Aging and Dementia Training Program

This interdisciplinary pre- and post-doctoral training program is an interdisciplinary program, funded by the National Institute on Aging, affiliated with the Department of Neurology and the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, the Department of Mental Health at the School of Public Health and the Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences at the School of Arts and Sciences. The Department of Mental Health contact is Dr. Michelle Carlson ( [email protected] ). The goal of this training program is to train young investigators in age-related cognitive and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Program Requirements 

Course location and modality is found on the BSPH website .

Residence Requirements

All doctoral students must complete and register for four full-time terms of a regular academic year, in succession, starting with Term 1 registration in August-September of the academic year and continuing through Term 4 ending in May of that same academic year. Full-time registration entails a minimum of 16 credits of registration each term and a maximum of 22 credits per term.

Full-time residence means more than registration. It means active participation in department seminars and lectures, research work group meetings, and other socializing experiences within our academic community. As such, doctoral trainees are expected to be in attendance on campus for the full academic year except on official University holidays and vacation leave.

Course Requirements

Not all courses are required to be taken in the first year alone; students typically take 2 years to complete all course requirements. 

Students must obtain an A or B in all required courses. If a grade of C or below is received, the student will be required to repeat the course. An exception is given if a student receives a C (but not a D) in either of the first two terms of the required biostatistics series, but then receives a B or better in both of the final two terms of the series; then a student will not be required to retake the earlier biostatistics course. However, the student cannot have a cumulative GPA lower than 3.0 to remain in good academic standing. Any other exceptions to this grade requirement must be reviewed and approved by the departmental CAS and academic adviser.

Below are the required courses for the PhD; further Information can be found on the PhD in Mental Health webpage. 

BIOSTATISTICS

Must be completed to be eligible to sit for the departmental written comprehensive exams.

EPIDEMIOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH COURSES

For Department of Mental Health doctoral students, a research analysis is required entailing one additional course credit.  PH.330.840 Special Studies and Research Mental Health  listing Dr. Volk as the mentor.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS OUTSIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH

The School requires that at least 18 credit units must be satisfactorily completed in formal courses outside the student's primary department. Among these 18 credit units, no fewer than three courses (totaling at least 9 credits) must be satisfactorily completed in two or more departments of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The remaining outside credit units may be earned in any department or division of the University. This requirement is usually satisfied with the biostatistics and epidemiology courses required by the department.

Candidates who have completed a master’s program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health may apply 12 credits from that program toward this School requirement. Contact the Academic Office for further information.

SCHOOL-WIDE COURSES

Introduction to Online Learning  taken before the first year.

ETHICS TRAINING

PH.550.860 Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH  (0 credit - pass/fail)  required of all students in the first term of registration.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) connotes a broad range of career development topics that goes beyond the more narrowly focused “research ethics” and includes issues such as conflict of interest, authorship responsibilities, research misconduct, animal use and care, and human subjects research. RCR training requirements for JHPSH students are based on two circumstances: their degree program and their source of funding, which may overlap. 

• All PhD students are required to take one of two courses in Responsible Conduct of Research, detailed below one time, in any year, during their doctoral studies.
• All students, regardless of degree program, who receive funding from one of the federal grant mechanisms outlined in the NIH notice below, must take one of the two courses listed below to satisfy the 8 in-person hours of training in specific topic areas specified by NIH (e.g., conflict of interest, authorship, research misconduct, human and animal subject ethics, etc.).

The two courses that satisfy either requirement are:

• PH.550.600 Living Science Ethics - Responsible Conduct of Research  [1 credit]. Once per week, 1st term.
• PH.306.665 Research Ethics and integrity  [3 credits]. Twice per week, 3rd term.

Registration in either course is recorded on the student’s transcript and serves as documentation of completion of the requirement.

• If a non-PhD or postdoctoral student is unsure whether or not their source of funding requires in-person RCR training, they or the PI should contact the project officer for the award.
• Students who may have taken the REWards course (Research Ethics Workshops About Responsibilities and Duties of Scientists) in the SOM can request that this serve as a replacement, as long as they can provide documentation of at least 8 in-person contact hours.
• Postdoctoral students are permitted to enroll in either course but BSPH does not require them to take RCR training. However, terms of their funding might require RCR training and it is their obligation to fulfill the requirement.
• The required Academic Ethics module is independent of the RCR training requirement. It is a standalone module that must be completed by all students at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. This module covers topics associated with maintaining academic integrity, including plagiarism, proper citations, and cheating.

PhD in Mental Health  

Department of Mental Health candidates for the degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) must fulfill all University and School requirements. These include, but are not limited to, a minimum of four consecutive academic terms at the School in full-time residency (some programs require 6 terms), continuous registration throughout their tenure as a PhD student, satisfactory completion of a Departmental Written Comprehensive Examination, satisfactory performance on a University Preliminary Oral Examination, readiness to undertake research, and preparation and successful defense of a thesis based upon independent research.

PhD Students are required to be registered full-time for a minimum of 16 credits per term and courses must be taken for letter grade or pass/fail. Courses taken for audit do not count toward the 16-credit registration minimum.

Students having already earned credit at BSPH from a master's program or as a Special Student Limited within the past three years for any of the required courses may be able to use them toward satisfaction of doctoral course requirements.

For a full list of program policies, please visit the PhD in Mental Health  page where students can find more information and links to our handbook.

Completion of Requirements

The University places a seven-year maximum limit upon the period of doctoral study. The Department of Mental Health students are expected to complete all requirements in an average of 4-5 years. 

Learning Outcomes

The PhD program is designed to provide key knowledge and skill-based competencies in the field of public mental health. Upon successful completion of the PhD in Mental Health, students will have mastered the following competencies:

• Evaluate the clinical presentations, incidence, prevalence, course and risk/protective factors for major mental and behavioral health disorders.
• Differentiate important known biological, psychological and social risk and protective factors for major mental and behavioral disorders and assess how to advance understanding of the causes of these disorders in populations.
• Evaluate and explain factors associated with resiliency and recovery from major mental and behavioral disorders.
• Evaluate, select, and implement effective methods and measurement strategies for assessment of major mental and behavioral disorders across a range of epidemiologic settings.
• Critically evaluate strategies for the prevention and treatment of major mental and behavioral disorders as well as utilization and delivery of mental health services over the life course, across a range of settings, and in a range of national contexts.
• Assess preventive and treatment interventions likely to prove effective in optimizing mental health of the population, reducing the incidence of mental and behavioral disorders, raising rates of recovery from disorders, and reducing risk of later disorder recurrence. 

According  to the requirements of the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), all BSPH degree students must be grounded in foundational public health knowledge. Please view the  list of specific CEPH requirements by degree type .

• Mission, Facts and Figures
• Deans, Chairs and Staff
• Leadership Council
• Dean in the News
• Get Involved
• DEIB Mission
• Message from DEIB Associate Dean
• News and Media
• Reading Lists
• The Yale and Slavery Research Project
• Photo Gallery
• Winslow Medal
• Coat of Arms & Mace
• $50 Million Challenge
• For Pandemic Prevention and Global Health
• For Understanding the Health Impacts of Climate Change
• For Health Equity and Justice
• For Powering Health Solutions through Data Science
• For Future Leaders
• For Faculty Leaders
• For Transformational Efforts
• Data, Leadership, and Collaboration at the School of Public Health
• An abiding love for Yale turns into a lasting gift – in 15 minutes
• Endowed Professorship Created at Critical Time for Yale School of Public Health
• Brotherly encouragement spurs gift to support students
• Prestipino creates opportunities for YSPH students, now and later
• Alumna gives back to the school that “opened doors” in male-dominated field
• For Public Health, a Broad Mission and a Way to Amplify Impact
• Couple Endows Scholarship to Put Dreams in Reach for YSPH Students
• A Match Made at YSPH
• A HAPPY Meeting of Public Health and the Arts
• Generous Gift Bolsters Diversity & Inclusion
• Alumni Donations Aid Record Number of YSPH Students
• YSPH’s Rapid Response Fund Needs Donations – Rapidly
• Podiatric Medicine and Orthopedics as Public Health Prevention
• Investing in Future Public Health Leaders
• Support for Veterans and Midcareer Students
• Donor Eases Burden for Policy Students
• A Personal Inspiration for Support of Cancer Research
• Reducing the Burden of Student Debt
• Learning About Global Health Through Global Travel
• A Meeting in Dubai, and a Donation to the School
• Rapid Response Fund
• Planned Giving
• Testimonials
• Assistant Professor - Biostatistics
• Assistant/Associate Professor - Environmental Toxicology
• Associate Research Scientist - Data Science and Data Equity
• Associate Research Scientist - Health Policy and Management
• Associate Research Scientist - YCAS
• Postdoctoral Associate - Computational Biology
• LGBTQ Mental Health Postdoctoral Clinical Research Associate in NYC
• Postdoctoral Associate - Health Policy and Management
• Postdoctoral Associate - Data Science and Data Equity
• Postdoctoral Associate - CMIPS
• Postdoctoral Associate - Environmental Health Sciences
• Postdoctoral Associate - Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Postdoctoral Associate - Malaria Genomics and Vaccinology
• Postdoctoral Associate - McDougal Lab
• Postgraduate Associate - Data, Modeling, and Decision Analysis
• For the Media
• Issues List
• PDF Issues for Download
• Editorial Style Guide
• Social Media
• Shared Humanity Podcast
• Health & Veritas Podcast
• Maps and Directions
• Accreditation
• Faculty Directory by Name
• Career Achievement Awards
• Annual Research Awards
• Teaching Spotlights
• Biostatistics
• Chronic Disease Epidemiology
• Climate Change and Health Concentration
• Environmental Health Sciences
• Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
• Global Health
• Health Policy and Management
• Implementation Science Track
• Maternal and Child Health Promotion Track
• Public Health Modeling Concentration
• Social & Behavioral Sciences
• U.S. Health Justice Concentration
• Why Public Health at Yale
• Events and Contact
• What Does it Take to be a Successful YSPH Student?
• How to Apply and FAQs
• Orientation Schedule
• Traveling to Yale
• Meet Students and Alumni
• Past Internship Spotlights
• Student-run Organizations
• MS and PhD Student Leaders
• Staff Spotlights
• Life in New Haven
• Libraries at Yale
• The MPH Internship Experience
• Practicum Course Offerings
• Summer Funding and Fellowships
• Downs Fellowship Committee
• Stolwijk Fellowship
• Climate Change and Health
• Career Management Center
• What You Can Do with a Yale MPH
• MPH Career Outcomes
• MS Career Outcomes
• PhD Career Outcomes
• Employer Recruiting
• Tuition and Expenses
• External Funding and Scholarships
• External Fellowships for PhD Candidates
• Alumni Spotlights
• Bulldog Perks
• Stay Involved
• Update Your Info
• Board of Directors
• Emerging Majority Affairs Committee
• Award Nomination Form
• Board Nomination Form
• Alumni Engagement Plus
• Mentorship Program
• The Mentoring Process
• For Mentors
• For Students
• Recent Graduate Program
• Transcript and Verification Requests
• Applied Practice and Student Research
• Competencies and Career Paths
• Applied Practice and Internships
• Student Research
• Seminar and Events
• Competencies and Career paths
• Why the YSPH Executive MPH
• Message from the Program Director
• Two-year Hybrid MPH Schedule
• The Faculty
• Student Profiles
• Newsletter Articles
• Approved Electives
• Physicians Associates Program
• Joint Degrees with International Partners
• MS in Biostatistics Standard Pathway
• MS Implementation and Prevention Science Methods Pathway
• MS Data Sciences Pathway
• Internships and Student Research
• Competencies
• Degree Requirements - Quantitative Specialization
• Degree Requirements - Clinical Specialization
• Degree Requirements- PhD Biostatistics Standard Pathway
• Degree Requirements- PhD Biostatistics Implementation and Prevention Science Methods Pathway
• Meet PhD Students in Biostatistics
• Meet PhD Students in CDE
• Degree Requirements and Timeline
• Meet PhD Students in EHS
• Meet PhD Students in EMD
• Meet PhD Students in HPM
• Degree Requirements - PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Degree Requirements - PhD SBS Program Maternal and Child Health Promotion
• Meet PhD Students in SBS
• Differences between MPH and MS degrees
• Academic Calendar
• Translational Alcohol Research Program
• Molecular Virology/Epidemiology Training Program (MoVE-Kaz)
• For Public Health Practitioners and Workforce Development
• Course Description
• Instructors
• Registration
• Coursera Offerings
• Non-degree Students
• International Initiatives & Partnerships
• NIH-funded Summer Research Experience in Environmental Health (SREEH)
• Summer International Program in Environmental Health Sciences (SIPEHS)
• 2023 Student Awards
• 2022 Student Awards
• APHA Annual Meeting & Expo
• National Public Health Week (NPHW)
• Leaders in Public Health
• YSPH Dean's Lectures
• The Role of Data in Public Health Equity & Innovation Conference
• Innovating for the Public Good
• Practice- and community-based research and initiatives
• Practice and community-based research and initiatives
• Activist in Residence Program
• The Data & The Solutions
• Publications
• Health Care Systems and Policy
• Heart Disease and Stroke
• Panels, Seminars and Workshops (Recordings)
• Rapid Response Fund Projects
• SalivaDirect™
• Emerging Infections Program - COVID-NET
• Public Health Modeling Unit Projects
• HIV-AIDS-TB
• The Lancet 2023 Series on Breastfeeding
• 'Omics
• News in Biostatistics
• Biostatistics Overview
• Seminars and Events
• Seminar Recordings
• Statistical Genetics/Genomics, Spatial Statistics and Modeling
• Causal Inference, Observational Studies and Implementation Science Methodology
• Health Informatics, Data Science and Reproducibility
• Clinical Trials and Outcomes
• Machine Learning and High Dimensional Data Analysis
• News in CDE
• Nutrition, Diabetes, Obesity
• Maternal and Child Health
• Outcomes Research
• Health Disparities
• Women's Health
• News in EHS
• EHS Seminar Recordings
• Climate change and energy impacts on health
• Developmental origins of health and disease
• Environmental justice and health disparities
• Enviromental related health outcomes
• Green chemistry solutions
• Novel approaches to assess environmental exposures and early markers of effect
• 1,4 Dioxane
• Reproducibility
• Tissue Imaging Mass Spectrometry
• Alcohol and Cancer
• Olive Oil and Health
• Lightning Talks
• News in EMD
• Antimicrobial Resistance
• Applied Public Health and Implementation Science
• Emerging Infections and Climate Change
• Global Health/Tropical Diseases
• HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Marginalized Population Health & Equity
• Pathogen Genomics, Diagnostics, and Molecular Epidemiology
• Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases
• Disease Areas
• EMD Research Day
• News in HPM
• Health Systems Reform
• Quality, Efficiency and Equity of Healthcare
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health
• Modeling: Policy, Operations and Disease
• Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Medical Devices
• Health and Wellbeing
• News in SBS
• Aging Health
• Community Engagement
• Health Equity
• Mental Health
• Reproductive Health
• Sexuality and Health
• Nutrition, Exercise
• Stigma Prevention
• Community Partners
• For Public Health Practitioners
• Reports and Publications
• Fellows Stipend Application
• Agency Application
• Past Fellows
• PHFP in the News
• Frequently Asked Questions
• International Activity
• Research Publications
• Grant Listings
• Modeling Analyses
• 3 Essential Questions Series

INFORMATION FOR

• Prospective Students
• Incoming Students
• myYSPH Members

The mentorship and support I’ve received through the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) as a predoctoral fellow has been invaluable and was a big factor in my decision to attend YSPH.

PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Department aims to understand and improve health equity, both domestically and globally. SBS provides instruction in the theory and methods of the social and behavioral sciences that emphasize individual, interpersonal, community, and structural influences on health, illness, and recovery. The primary emphases are focused on (1) understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, community, and societal influences on health in the general population, with a focus on those who are disadvantaged; and (2) creating multilevel interventions that eliminate barriers to health, from infancy to old age. The SBS curriculum takes an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on integrating methods from epidemiology and the social sciences, training scientists with a broad skill set that allows them to answer a host of complex research questions. The department has numerous research strengths including in HIV/AIDS, aging health, community engaged health research, maternal child health, mental health, health equity and disparities, and stigma prevention and health.

This program does not require General GRE test scores.

Learn more about the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

• Career Outcomes and the YSPH Career Management Center

MyYSPH.Yale.Edu

Doctoral Program

Phd-phs in social and behavioral sciences.

Prospective doctoral students interested in the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences should apply to the Doctor of Philosophy ( PhD ) Program in  Population Health Sciences  and choose  Social & Behavioral Sciences as their Field of Study.

The PhD in Population Health Sciences is offered under the aegis of the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and is awarded by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Students in this program will gain broad, interdisciplinary knowledge in quantitative and qualitative methods of enquiry for understanding the health of populations, and developmental approaches to population health science. In addition, students will belong to one of the following Fields of Study associated with the departments of: Environmental Health , Epidemiology , Global Health and Population , Nutrition , or Social and Behavioral Sciences .

For further details on the PhD program, please visit this website .

Curriculum Guide

2023-24 SBS-PhD Curriculum Guide

What are the admission requirements for the PhD program?

For applicants that are applying into the PhD in Population Health Sciences check out this admission requirement  checklist .

Is the GRE required?

Yes. All applicants are required to submit GRE scores as part of their application submission. This is a change from our pandemic policy. As with other application components, the GRE will be considered as part of an applicant’s holistic application, in combination with all submitted materials.

I’m applying to the PhD program in Population Health Sciences, do I need to secure an advisor? Do faculty make advising commitments before applying to the program?

Advisors for PhD students in the PHS program are chosen after we know who will be joining us in the new cohort. Generally, the assignment takes place in early to mid-May. An essential part of the PhD admissions process is the consideration of appropriate mentoring faculty for the applicant. Therefore applicants do not get prior advising commitments from a potential faculty mentor prior to applying to the program. We recommend listing up to three faculty members of interest in your personal statement, articulating how your current research interests align with the faculty listed.

I’m applying to the PhD program in Population Health Sciences, do I need to have prior quantitative coursework?

Our program has a strong emphasis on quantitative methods so showing preparation in this area is strongly recommended. The doctoral program in SBS is very quantitative-focused and we do require students to take a year of Quantitative Research Methods in Population Health Sciences (PHS 2000 A + B). Although the committee looks at the application holistically, some emphasis is placed on how well applicants do in specific course areas such as Biostats, EPI and the social sciences.

It’s always helpful to the admissions committee to be able to assess quantitative skills in an applicant’s background and that is usually demonstrated through coursework, professional experiences and letters of recommendation.

What are you looking for in applicants to the PhD program?

While applications are looked at holistically, the admissions committee does place an emphasis on prior coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology and the social sciences, so highlighting these types of courses in your application will be useful.  Additionally, it could be helpful if one of your recommenders is a professor from your last degree program who can comment positively on your quantitative abilities.  Your statement of purpose is a chance for you to tell the committee about your motivation for pursuing doctoral work in SBS and to describe yourself as a researcher. A key part of the admissions review process is making sure there is appropriate mentorship, so we suggest naming up to three SBS faculty whose interests align with your own. You can read about the faculty here .

You may find the information on this page helpful as you prepare your application.

Will graduate course work from my master’s degree be accepted for some of the coursework required in the PhD (e.g. statistics courses etc.)?

You can submit a substitution form with the course syllabus for courses you have taken in your Master’s program. Substitution requests are carefully reviewed by the instructor of the required HSPH course to determine if the course is truly equivalent.

Where can I find out more information on the research in the SBS department?

You can get some information on faculty research by viewing their profiles on the department website.

You can read about the research areas of current students here .

News from the School

U.S. bird flu response builds on lessons learned from COVID

Experiencing gratitude associated with greater longevity among older adults

Insurance coverage disruptions, challenges accessing care common amid Medicaid unwinding

‘Linear urban forest’ project aims to mitigate heat, improve health in cities

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• 13 November 2019

The mental health of PhD researchers demands urgent attention

You have full access to this article via your institution.

Performance management — captured here in photographs from Frank Gilbreth — has long contributed to ill health in researchers. Credit: Kheel Centre

Two years ago, a student responding to Nature ’s biennial PhD survey called on universities to provide a quiet room for “crying time” when the pressures caused by graduate study become overwhelming. At that time , 29% of 5,700 respondents listed their mental health as an area of concern — and just under half of those had sought help for anxiety or depression caused by their PhD study.

Things seem to be getting worse.

Respondents to our latest survey of 6,300 graduate students from around the world, published this week, revealed that 71% are generally satisfied with their experience of research, but that some 36% had sought help for anxiety or depression related to their PhD.

These findings echo those of a survey of 50,000 graduate students in the United Kingdom also published this week. Respondents to this survey, carried out by Advance HE, a higher-education management training organization based in York, UK, were similarly positive about their research experiences, but 86% report marked levels of anxiety — a much higher percentage than in the general population. Similar data helped to prompt the first international conference dedicated to the mental health and well-being of early-career researchers in May. Tellingly, the event sold out .

How can graduate students be both broadly satisfied, but also — and increasingly — unwell? One clue can be found elsewhere in our survey. One-fifth of respondents reported being bullied; and one-fifth also reported experiencing harassment or discrimination.

Could universities be taking more effective action? Undoubtedly. Are they? Not enough. Of the respondents who reported concerns, one-quarter said that their institution had provided support, but one-third said that they had had to seek help elsewhere.

There’s another, and probably overarching, reason for otherwise satisfied students to be stressed to the point of ill health. Increasingly, in many countries, career success is gauge by a spectrum of measurements that include publications, citations, funding, contributions to conferences and, now, whether a person’s research has a positive impact on people, the economy or the environment. Early-career jobs tend to be precarious. To progress, a researcher needs to be hitting the right notes in regard to the measures listed above in addition to learning the nuts and bolts of their research topics — concerns articulated in a series of columns and blog posts from the research community published last month.

Most students embark on a PhD as the foundation of an academic career. They choose such careers partly because of the freedom and autonomy to discover and invent. But problems can arise when autonomy in such matters is reduced or removed — which is what happens when targets for funding, impact and publications become part of universities’ formal monitoring and evaluation systems. Moreover, when a student’s supervisor is also the judge of their success or failure, it’s no surprise that many students feel unable to open up to them about vulnerabilities or mental-health concerns.

The solution to this emerging crisis does not lie solely in institutions doing more to provide on-campus mental-health support and more training for supervisors — essential though such actions are. It also lies in recognizing that mental ill-health is, at least in part, a consequence of an excessive focus on measuring performance — something that funders, academic institutions, journals and publishers must all take responsibility for.

Much has been written about how to overhaul the system and find a better way to define success in research, including promoting the many non-academic careers that are open to researchers. But on the ground, the truth is that the system is making young people ill and they need our help. The research community needs to be protecting and empowering the next generation of researchers. Without systemic change to research cultures, we will otherwise drive them away.

Nature 575 , 257-258 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03489-1

Reprints and permissions

Related Articles

• Research management

Why I’ve removed journal titles from the papers on my CV

Career Column 09 AUG 24

Why we quit: how ‘toxic management’ and pandemic pressures fuelled disillusionment in higher education

Career News 08 AUG 24

Scientists are falling victim to deepfake AI video scams — here’s how to fight back

Career Feature 07 AUG 24

Hybrid conferences should be the norm — optimize them so everyone benefits

Editorial 06 AUG 24

Slow productivity worked for Marie Curie — here’s why you should adopt it, too

Career Feature 05 AUG 24

The Taliban ‘took my life’ — scientists who fled takeover speak out

News 09 AUG 24

The time to act is now: the world’s highest court must weigh in strongly on climate and nature

World View 08 AUG 24

The UK launched a metascience unit. Will other countries follow suit?

Nature Index 07 AUG 24

Recruitment of Talent Positions at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University

Call for top experts and scholars in the field of science and technology.

Shenyang, Liaoning, China

Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University

The Recruitment of Fuyao University of Science and Technology

This recruitment of Fuyao University Technologyof Science andUcovers 7 departments including the 6 Schools and the Faculty of Fundamental Disciplines.

Fuzhou, Fujian (CN)

Fuzhou FuYao Institute for Advanced Study

Educational Consultant

You will build and maintain strong relationships with local representatives, key distributors, schools, Ministries of Education, etc.

Riyadh - hybrid working model

Springer Nature Ltd

Senior Marketing Manager – Journal Awareness

Job Title: Senior Marketing Manager – Journal Awareness Location(s): London, UK - Hybrid Working Model Closing date: 25th August 2024             A...

London (Central), London (Greater) (GB)

Faculty Positions& Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Optical and Electronic Information, HUST

Job Opportunities: Leading talents, young talents, overseas outstanding young scholars, postdoctoral researchers.

Wuhan, Hubei, China

School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

• How it works

Useful Links

How much will your dissertation cost?

Have an expert academic write your dissertation paper!

Dissertation Services

Get unlimited topic ideas and a dissertation plan for just £45.00

Order topics and plan

Get 1 free topic in your area of study with aim and justification

Yes I want the free topic

Mental Health Dissertation Topics & Titles

Published by Carmen Troy at January 9th, 2023 , Revised On June 10, 2024

You probably found your way here looking for mental health topics for your final year research project. Look no further, we have drafted a list of issues, and their research aims to help you when you are brainstorming for dissertation or thesis topics on mental health.

PhD-qualified writers of our team have developed these topics, so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting a brief research proposal or full dissertation service from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an introduction to the topic, research question , aim and objectives, literature review , and the proposed research methodology to be conducted. Let us know if you need any help in getting started.

Check our dissertation examples to understand how to structure your dissertation .

Also read: Psychology dissertation topics & nursing dissertation topics

List Of Trending Mental Health Research Topics & Ideas

• The Impact of Social Media on Body Image and Self Esteem in Youngsters. 
• How Does Loneliness Link to Depression in People Above the Age of 70
• The Effects of Israeli-Palestinian Conflicts on the Mental Health of Children in Gaza 
• The Impact of Posting Pictures From War on the Mental Health of Viewers
• The Effectiveness of Excercise Programs in Managing Symptoms of Depression 
• Role of Cultural Competency in Providing Effective Mental Healthcare for Diverse Populations
• The Impact of Social Stigma on Help-Seeking Behaviours for Mental Health Concerns
• The Effectiveness of Art Therapy Interventions in Managing Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd)
• How Group Therapy Interventions Impacts Promoting Social Connection and Reducing Loneliness
• Animal-Assisted Therapy Interventions in Reducing Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
• Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy in Treating Eating Disorders

Latest Mental Health Dissertation Topics

Review the step-by-step guide on how to write your dissertation here .

Topic 1: An assessment of the Influence of Parents' Divorce or Separation on Adolescent Children in terms of long-term psychological impact.

Research Aim: This study aims to investigate the level of traumas experienced by the children of divorced or separated parents. The principal aim of this study is to explore the long-term psychological impacts of parents’ divorce on the life of children regardless of their gender and age in terms of mental wellbeing, academic performance, and self-worth.

Topic 2: An investigation of the impact of Trauma and Health-related quality of life on the Mental health and Self-worth of a child.

Research Aim: This study aims to assess the long-term impacts of the trauma children face in their early years of life on their overall mental health. Also, numerous studies have emphasised improving the quality of life for children who tend to experience multiple traumas and take them along in adulthood. Therefore, this study also proposed the impacts of traumatic childhood experiences on self-worth, mental health, and vitality of implementing firm intervention before the child reaches adulthood.

Topic 3: Assessing the effect of Psychological training on males suffering from Post-Surgery Anxiety in the UK.

Research Aim: Postoperative problems may occur as a result of surgical stress. This study aims to examine different approaches to control post-surgical anxiety and improve patients’ lives in the short and long term, focusing on male patients in the UK. It will also give us an understanding of how psychological training and interventions affect anxiety in male patients and help them overcome this through a systematic review.

Topic 4: Investigating the Relationship between Mental illness and Suicides- A case study of UK's Young Adults.

Research Aim: This study aims to find the relationship between mental illness and suicides and risk factors in the UK. This study will specifically focus on young adults. It will examine different mental disorders and how they have led to suicide and will analyse further studies of people who have died by suicide and find evidence of the presence or absence of mental illness.

Topic 5: Examining the behaviour of Mental Health Nurses taking care of Schizophrenia Patients in the UK.

Research Aim: Negative behaviours and discrimination have been usually reported as a reason for the inconvenience in the treatment of mentally ill or schizophrenia patients, which negatively impacts the patient’s results. Healthcare professionals’ attitudes have been regarded as being more negative than the general public, which lowers the outlook for patients suffering from mental illness. This study will examine the behaviour of mental health nurses regarding schizophrenia patients in the UK and also focus on the characteristics associated with nurses’ attitudes.

COVID-19 Mental Health Research Topics

Topic1: impacts of the coronavirus on the mental health of various age groups.

Research Aim: This study will reveal the impacts of coronavirus on the mental health of various age groups

Topic 2: Mental health and psychological resilience during COVID-19

Research Aim: Social distancing has made people isolated and affected their mental health. This study will highlight various measures to overcome the stress and mental health of people during coronavirus.

Topic 3: The mental health of children and families during COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will address the challenging situations faced by children and families during lockdown due to COVID-19. It will also discuss various ways to overcome the fear of disease and stay positive.

Topic 4: Mental wellbeing of patients during the Coronavirus pandemic

Research Aim: This study will focus on the measures taken by the hospital management, government, and families to ensure patients’ mental well-being, especially COVID-19 patients.

Best Mental Health Topics for Your Dissertation

Topic 1: kids and their relatives with cancer: psychological challenges.

Research Aim: In cancer diagnoses and therapies, children often don’t know what happens. Many have psychosocial problems, including rage, terror, depression, disturbing sleep, inexpiable guilt, and panic. Therefore, this study is designed to identify and treat the child and its family members’ psychological issues.

Topic 2: Hematopoietic device reaction in ophthalmology patient’s radiation therapy

Research Aim: This research is based on the analysis of hematopoietic devices’ reactions to ophthalmology radiation.

Topic 3: Psychological effects of cyberbullying Vs. physical bullying: A counter study

Research Aim: This research will focus on the effects of cyberbullying and physical bullying and their consequences on the victim’s mental health. The most significant part is the counter effects on our society’s environment and human behaviour, particularly youth.

Topic 4: Whether or not predictive processing is a theory of perceptual consciousness?

Research Aim: This research aims to identify whether or not predictive processing is a theory of perceptual consciousness.

Topic 5: Importance of communication in a relationship

Research Aim: This research aims to address the importance of communication in relationships and the communication gap consequences.

Topic 6: Eating and personality disorders

Research Aim: This research aims to focus on eating and personality disorders

Topic 7: Analysis of teaching, assessment, and evaluation of students and learning differences

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse teaching methods, assessment, and evaluation systems of students and their learning differences

Topic 8: Social and psychological effects of virtual networks

Research Aim: This research aims to study the social and psychological effects of virtual networks

Topic 9: The role of media in provoking aggression

Research Aim: This research aims to address the role of media in provoking aggression among people

Mental Health Topics for Your Dissertation For Research

Topic 1: what is the impact of social media platforms on the mental wellbeing of adults.

Research Aim: the current study aims to investigate the impact social media platforms tend to have on adults’ mental well-being with a particular focus on the United Kingdom. While many studies have been carried out to gauge the impact of social media platforms on teenagers’ mental well-being, little to no research has been performed to investigate how the health of adults might be affected by the same and how social media platforms like Facebook impact them.

Topic 2: The contemporary practical management approach to treating personality disorders

Research Aim: This research will discuss the contemporary practical management approach for treating personality disorders in mental health patients. In the previous days, much of the personality disorder treatments were based on medicines and drugs. Therefore, this research will address contemporary and practical ways to manage how personality disorders affect the mental state of the individuals who have the disease.

Topic 3: How is Prozac being used in the modern-day to treat self-diagnosed depression?

Research Aim: In the current day and age, besides people suffering from clinical depression, many teens and adults have started to suffer from self-diagnosed depression. To treat their self-diagnosed depression, individuals take Prozac through all the wrong means, which harms their mental state even more. Therefore, the current study aims to shed light on how Prozac is being used in the modern age and the adverse effects of misinformed use on patients.

Topic 4: Are women more prone to suffer from mental disorders than men: A Comparative analysis

Research Aim: There have been several arguments regarding whether women are more likely to suffer from mental disorders than men. Much of the research carried out provides evidence that women are more prone to suffer from mental disorders. This research study aims to conduct a comparative analysis to determine whether it’s more likely for men or women to suffer from mental disorders and what role biological and societal factors play in determining the trend.

Topic 5: The impact of breakups on the mental health of men?

Research Aim: Several studies have been carried out to discuss how women are affected more by a breakup than men. However, little research material is available in support of the impact the end of a relationship can have on men’s mental health. Therefore, this research study will fill out the gap in research to determine the impact of a breakup on men’s mental health and stability.

Topic 6: A theoretical analysis of the Impact of emotional attachment on mental health?

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse the theories developed around emotional attachment to address how emotional attachment can harm individuals’ mental health across the globe. Several theories discuss the role that emotional attachment tends to play in the mind of a healthy being, and how emotional attachment can often negatively affect mental well-being.

Topic 7: How do social media friendships contribute to poor mental health?

Research Aim: This research idea aims to address how social media friendships and networking can often lead to a lack of self-acceptance, self-loathing, self-pity, self-comparison, and depression due to the different mindsets that are present in today’s world.

Topic 8: What role do parents play in ensuring the mental well-being of their children?

Research Aim: It is assumed that parents tend to stop playing a role in ensuring that the mental health and well-being of their children are being maintained after a certain age. Therefore, this study will aim to put forward the idea that even after the children pass the age of 18, activities and their relationship with their parents will always play a role in the way their mental health is being transformed.

Topic 9: A study on the mental health of soldiers returning from Iraq?

Research Aim: This topic idea puts forward the aim that the mental health of soldiers who return from war-struck areas is always a subject of interest, as each of the soldiers carries a mental burden. Therefore, it is vital to understand the soldiers’ mental health returning from Iraq, focusing on what causes their mental health to deteriorate during the war and suggestions of what to do or who to call if they do become unwell.

Topic 10: How the contemporary media practices in the UK are leading to mental health problems?

Research Aim: The media is known to have control and influence over people’s mindsets who are connected to it. Many of the contemporary media practices developed in the UK can negatively impact the mental well-being of individuals, which makes it necessary to analyse how they are contributing to the mental health problems among the UK population.

Topic 11: What is the impact of television advertising on the mental development of children in the UK?

Research Aim: This topic aims to address how television advertising can negatively impact children’s mental development in the United Kingdom, as it has been observed in many studies that television advertising is detrimental to the mental health of children.

Topic 12: How deteriorating mental health can have an Impact on physical health?

Research Aim: This research aims to address the side-effects of deteriorating mental health on the physical health of individuals in society, as it is believed that the majority of the physical ailments in the modern-day age are due to the deteriorating mental health of individuals. The study can address the treatments for many ailments in our society due to deteriorating mental health and well-being.

Topic 13: The relationship between unemployment and mental health

Research Aim: How unemployment relates to concepts, such as a declining economy or lack of social skills and education, has been frequently explored by many researchers in the past. However, not many have discussed the relationship between unemployment and the mental health of unemployed individuals. Therefore, this topic will help address the problems faced by individuals due to unemployment because of the mental blocks they are likely to develop and experience. In the future, it will lead to fewer people being depressed due to unemployment when further research is carried out.

Topic 14: The mental health problems of prisoners in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: While prisoners across the globe are criticised and studied for the negativity that goes on in their mindsets, one would rarely research the mental health problems they tend to develop when they become prisoners for committing any crime. It is often assumed that it is the life inside the prison walls that impacts the prisoners’ mental health in a way that leads to them committing more crimes. Therefore, this research topic has been developed to study prison’s impact on prisoners’ mental well-being in the United Kingdom to eventually decrease the number of crimes that occur due to the negative environment inside the prisons.

Topic 15: Mental well-being of industry workers in China

Research Aim: While many research studies have been carried out regarding the conditions that the workers in China tend to be exposed to, there is very little supporting evidence regarding the impact such working conditions have on the mindset and mental health of the workers. Therefore, this study aims to address the challenges faced by industry workers in China and the impact that such challenges can have on their mental well-being.

Topic 16: Is the provision of mental health care services in the United Kingdom effective?

Research Aim: Many people have made different assumptions regarding the mental health care services provided across the globe. However, it seems that little to no research has been carried out regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the provision of mental health care services in the United Kingdom. Therefore, this study aims to put forward research into the mental health care services provided in well-developed countries like the United Kingdom to gauge the awareness and importance of mental health in the region.

Topic 17: What are the mental health problems that minorities in the United Kingdom face?

Research Aim: It is believed that minorities in the United Kingdom are likely to experience physical abuse, and societal abuse and are often exposed to discrimination and unfair acts at the workplace and in their social circle. The study investigates the range of mental problems faced by minorities in the UK, which need to be addressed to have equality, diversity, and harmony.

Topic 18: The impact the Coronavirus has had on the mental health of the Chinese people

Research Aim: The spread of the deadly Coronavirus has led to many deaths in the region of China, and many of those who have been suspected of the virus are being put in isolation and quarantine. Such conditions tend to hurt the mental health of those who have suffered from the disease and those who have watched people suffer from it. Therefore, the current study aims to address how the Coronavirus has impacted the mental health of the Chinese people.

Topic 19: How to create change in mental health organisations in China?

Research Aim: Research suggests little awareness about mental health in many Asian countries. As mental health problems are on the rise across the globe, it is necessary to change mental health organisations. Therefore, the study aims to discuss how to create change in mental health organisations in the Asian region using China’s example.

Topic 20: Addressing the mental health concerns of the Syrian refugees in the UK

Research Aim: This research project would address the concerns in terms of the refugees’ mental health and well-being, using an example of the Syrian refugees who had been allowed entry into the United Kingdom. This idea aims to put forward the negative effects that migration can have on refugees and how further research is required to combat such issues not just in the United Kingdom but worldwide.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service!

Important Notes:

As a mental health student looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment on existing mental health theories – i.e., to add value and interest in the topic of your research.

Mental health is vast and interrelated to so many other academic disciplines like civil engineering ,  construction ,  project management , engineering management , healthcare , finance and accounting , artificial intelligence , tourism , physiotherapy , sociology , management , project management , and nursing . That is why it is imperative to create a project management dissertation topic that is articular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best mental health dissertation topics that fulfill your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalising your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample mental health dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure Your Mental Health Dissertation

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature available on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths whilst identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic, and key terms that can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis : Findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts, and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section of the paper is to draw a linkage between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References : This should be completed following your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

About ResearchProspect Ltd

ResearchProspect is the world’s best academic writing service that provides help with Dissertation Proposal Writing , PhD Proposal Writing , Dissertation Writing , Dissertation Editing, and Improvement .

Our team of writers is highly qualified. They are experts in their respective fields. They have been working in the industry for a long, thus are aware of the issues and the trends of the industry they are working in.

Free Dissertation Topic

Phone Number

Academic Level Select Academic Level Undergraduate Graduate PHD

Academic Subject

Area of Research

Frequently Asked Questions

How to find mental health dissertation topics.

To find mental health dissertation topics:

• Research recent mental health issues.
• Examine gaps in existing literature.
• Consider diverse populations or perspectives.
• Explore treatment approaches or therapies.
• Look into stigma and societal factors.
• Select a topic that resonates with you for in-depth study.

You May Also Like

What can fashion marketing do for your fashion apparel brand? Fashion and accessories have been trends for a long time, but not all brands know how to use them effectively.

Need interesting ” effects of Covid-19 on tourism and hospitality dissertation topics”? Here are the trending titles so you can choose the most suitable one.

A good real estate dissertation requires a catchy research topic. Here is a list of 65 latest real estate dissertation topic ideas.

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

• How It Works

Our use of cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional cookies to help us measure web traffic and report on campaigns.

We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them.

Cookie settings

Mental Health

• Entry year 2024 or 2025
• Duration Part time 4 - 7 years

An international first, the PhD in Mental Health meets the needs of those wishing to gain a deep and critical insight into mental health theory, research and practice and to develop or enhance research skills whilst fulfilling their existing responsibilities. The programme is offered part-time and combines innovative distance learning with face-to-face teaching at an annual autumn Academy held in Lancaster.

The programme brings together the theory and practice of mental health, including psychological models of psychological disorders, evidence-based interventions and current priorities for mental health. Whether you are based within a healthcare setting, local government, education, research or management, the PhD in Mental Health is your chance to work with world-leading academics on the production of a thesis that makes an original contribution to knowledge within your area of professional practice.

This part-time, flexible doctorate runs over a minimum of four and a maximum of seven years. The programme begins with a compulsory five-day Induction Academy in Lancaster. Each of the subsequent academic years start with a compulsory three-day autumn Academy, while the rest of the course is delivered via e-learning. Attendance at the annual academies is compulsory until students have been confirmed on the PhD programme

Years 1 and 2 consist of taught modules delivered online. In Year 1 students take a specialist module that covers the theory and practice of mental health followed by a module on research philosophy and a module on research design. Year 2 modules may include: Systematic Reviews, Data Analysis, Research Design and Practical Research Ethics.

From Year 3 onwards, students undertake an independent research study , which will conclude with the submission of a thesis that makes an original contribution to knowledge. The research project will be supervised from the University but undertaken in students’ own location or workplace. Supervision meetings take place online. During the annual autumn Academy students meet with supervisors face to face.

A number of mental health research groups work from Lancaster University’s prestigious Division of Health Research. For example, the Spectrum Centre, which has attracted more than £6m in funding since its launch, is the only specialist research centre in the UK dedicated to translational research into the psychosocial aspects of bipolar disorder and associated conditions (including recurrent depression, anxiety, and psychosis), as well as developments in their treatment. Other staff research interests include mental health in people with chronic physical conditions or difficulties and ensuring positive mental health among socially marginalised groups.

Our close links to NHS mental health services in the North West of England and the voluntary sector, both regionally and nationally, combine with the current research interests of staff to inform the content of our modules. Service users will also be actively involved in the delivery of the taught component of your Doctorate.

Your department

• Division of Health Research Faculty of Health and Medicine
• Telephone +44 (0)1524 592032

Mental Health Research at Lancaster University

Professor Steve Jones introduces Mental Health research at Lancaster University, and our multi-facetted approach to understanding mental health. He discusses how the Faculty's research influences practice, changing the debate around mental health and ultimately improving outcomes.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements.

2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in an appropriate subject and relevant work experience.

We may also consider non-standard applicants, please contact us for information.

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

Additional Requirements

As part of your application you will also need to provide a viable research proposal. Guidance for writing a research proposal can be found on our writing a research proposal webpage.

English Language Requirements

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications .

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email [email protected]

Course structure

You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

core modules accordion

The aim of this module is to provide students with an advanced introduction to the methods commonly used in health research. Students will gain knowledge and understanding of:

• How to use Moodle for distance learning and engage with peers and staff online
• Using the library as a distance learning student
• How to search the literature
• Using End Note
• How to synthesise evidence
• Standards of academic writing
• The nature of plagiarism and how to reference source material correctly
• Theoretical perspectives in health research
• The practical process of conducting research
• How to formulate appropriate questions and hypotheses
• How to choose appropriate methodology
• Quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Research ethics
• Disseminating and implementing research into practice
• Programme-specific research.

e-learning distance module

Autumn Term (weeks 1-10, October – December)

Credits: 30

Mode of assessment : 3000 word essay (75%) and a poster (25%).

This module is an introduction to current topics and issues in mental health, covering theory (mechanisms underlying mental health), practice (psychosocial approaches to treating mental health problems), contemporary issues in mental health, and up-to-date research relating to these important topic areas.

Deadline: January

Spring Term (weeks 1-10, January-March)

Mode of assessment : 5000 word essay

This module explores the philosophical underpinnings of research. It begins with an introduction to epistemology, i.e. the philosophical basis of knowledge and its development. It then considers the influence of different epistemological bases on research methodology and explores the role of theory and theoretical frameworks in the research process. It also examines the nature of the knowledge that underpins evidence-based policy and practice and introduces the fundamental principles of ethics.

Deadline: April

Sunmer Term (weeks 1-10, April-June)

Mode of assessment : 5000 word assignment consisting of two 2500 word components

This module introduces a range of methods used in health research. The focus is on justifying research design choices rather than practical skills in data analysis. The starting point is the development of meaningful and feasible research questions. The module then introduces a range of quantitative research designs and quantitative approaches to data collection. Next, the module looks at qualitative research designs and their relation to different epistemological positions, as well as how to integrate quantitative and qualitative methods into mixed methods research. The module also explores issues such as sampling and quality across different research designs.

Deadline: July

Spring term (weeks 1-10, January-March)

Mode of assessment : two pieces of written work (Qualitative data analysis, 2500 words; Quantitative data analysis, 2500 words)

This module is an introduction to the theory and practice of qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The module consists of two distinct parts: qualitative data analysis and quantitative data analysis. Within quantitative data analysis, there will be an option to take an introductory or an advanced unit.

The introductory quantitative unit covers data management and descriptive analyses and introduces students to inferential testing in general and statistical tests for comparisons between groups specifically. The advanced quantitative unit covers linear regression as well as regression methods for categorical dependent variables and longitudinal data before exploring quasi-experimental methods for policy evaluation and finally providing an opportunity to discuss more specific regression methods such count data models or duration analysis.

The qualitative unit focusses on the technique of thematic analysis, a highly flexible approach and useful foundation for researchers new to qualitative data analysis. The unit takes students through the stages of a qualitative data analysis: sorting and organising qualitative data, interrogating qualitative data, interpreting the data and finally writing accounts of qualitative data.

Summer Term (weeks 1-10, April-June)

Mode of assessment : A written assignment that includes: a) a 4000 word research proposal and b) a completed REAMS (Research Ethics Application Management System) application form and supporting documents.

This module completes the taught phase of Blended Learning PhD programmes. It enables students to put everything they have learned so far together and produce a research proposal that will provide the basis for the research phase of the programme.

The first part of the module – research design – starts by discussing the components of a research proposal according to different epistemologies and research methods. It then takes students through the process of developing their own proposal, starting with the topic and epistemological framework, through to the study design and data collection methods and finally the practical details.

The second part of the module – practical research ethics – teaches students how to think about their research proposal from an ethical perspective. It covers ethical guidelines and teaches students how to identify the purpose of a guideline, to enable them to translate their proposal into an ethical review application. Finally, students will prepare a practice research ethics application using the REAMS application review system.

Autumn term (weeks 1-10, October-December)

Mode of assessment : 5000 word assignment

This module provides an introduction to the principles and components of systematic reviewing. It takes students through the key steps of a systematic review. The starting point of the module is the construction of an appropriate review question. Next, the module discusses the (iterative) process of creating a search strategy that successfully identifies all relevant literature. The module then moves on to selecting appropriate methodological quality criteria, enabling students to develop their skills in critically appraising studies. After discussing how to prepare a data extraction form the module introduces a key component of a systematic review: synthesising the evidence. Finally, the module will teach students how to put everything together in a systematic review protocol.

Fees and funding

Home Fee £4,350

International Fee £11,340

General fees and funding information

Additional fees and funding information accordion

There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.

Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.

College fees

Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small College Membership Fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.

For students starting in 2024, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses. Fees for students starting in 2025 have not yet been set.

Computer equipment and internet access

To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.

The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.

For most taught postgraduate applications there is a non-refundable application fee of £40. We cannot consider applications until this fee has been paid, as advised on our online secure payment system. There is no application fee for postgraduate research applications.

For some of our courses you will need to pay a deposit to accept your offer and secure your place. We will let you know in your offer letter if a deposit is required and you will be given a deadline date when this is due to be paid.

The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status .

If you are studying on a programme of more than one year’s duration, tuition fees are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years .

Similar courses

Health studies.

• Clinical Psychology DClinPsy
• Dementia Studies PhD
• Health Data Science MSc
• Health Data Science PhD
• Health Economics and Policy MSc
• Health Economics and Policy PhD
• Health Research PhD
• Organisational Health and Well-Being PhD
• Palliative Care PhD
• Public Health PhD

Take an innovative approach to distance learning combining interactive lectures, webinars and online collaboration, group work and self-directed study.

Work with world-leading academics to make an original contribution to your area of professional practice.

Benefit from an international peer group that could include educators, mental health practitioners and policy-makers.

Studying by blended learning

The PhD in Mental Health is offered part-time via blended learning . Teaching and research activities are carried out through a combination of face-to-face and online interaction, allowing you to undertake the majority of study from your own location whilst fulfilling your existing responsibilities. You will benefit from being part of a UK and internationally-based peer group working across a range of sectors.

Face-to-face interactions take place at an annual residential autumn Academy while taught modules are delivered via distance learning using our virtual learning environment and include discussion forums, collaborative digital spaces and video conferencing. All students have access to a hub space that facilitates interaction with their cohort and with students on related programmes, creating a virtual information space that’s also sociable. An academic tutor will support you during the taught phase and two supervisors provide you with support in the research phase.

The Division of Health Research

The Division of Health Research have been offering blended learning postgraduate programmes since 2010. We have many successful graduates and currently around 200 continuing students on a range of programmes who have benefited in progressing their careers from the high quality postgraduate education we provide.

Our Research in Mental Health

Our mental health research covers a wide range of research areas and activities, including bipolar disorder and related conditions, chronic illness and care approaches.

The Spectrum Centre

The Spectrum Centre is the only specialist research centre in the UK dedicated to translational research into the psychosocial aspects of bipolar disorder and associated conditions.

Athena SWAN: Gender Equality at Lancaster

We hold the Athena SWAN Silver Award, recognising our commitment to advancing the careers of women in higher education and research.

Important Information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information .

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies .

Why Lancaster?

League tables and reputation

A highly-ranked university with a global reputation.

Colleges and community

Your college will be your home away from home.

Careers and employability

Career support for our students through university and beyond.

Student life

Lancaster has so much to offer. On our campus, in our city and in our community, you’ll find your place – whoever you are.

Where is Lancaster?

Lancaster is easy to get to and surrounded by natural beauty.

The campus and the city

Our campus and the surrounding area is a great place to call home.

Your global experience

Build your global community on campus and around the world.

Wellbeing and support

Services to help you fulfil your potential at Lancaster.

• Open access
• Published: 26 August 2020

Understanding the mental health of doctoral researchers: a mixed methods systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-synthesis

• Cassie M. Hazell   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5868-9902 1 ,
• Laura Chapman 2 ,
• Sophie F. Valeix 3 ,
• Paul Roberts 4 ,
• Jeremy E. Niven 5 &
• Clio Berry 6  

Systematic Reviews volume  9 , Article number:  197 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

14k Accesses

66 Citations

82 Altmetric

Metrics details

Data from studies with undergraduate and postgraduate taught students suggest that they are at an increased risk of having mental health problems, compared to the general population. By contrast, the literature on doctoral researchers (DRs) is far more disparate and unclear. There is a need to bring together current findings and identify what questions still need to be answered.

We conducted a mixed methods systematic review to summarise the research on doctoral researchers’ (DRs) mental health. Our search revealed 52 articles that were included in this review.

The results of our meta-analysis found that DRs reported significantly higher stress levels compared with population norm data. Using meta-analyses and meta-synthesis techniques, we found the risk factors with the strongest evidence base were isolation and identifying as female. Social support, viewing the PhD as a process, a positive student-supervisor relationship and engaging in self-care were the most well-established protective factors.

Conclusions

We have identified a critical need for researchers to better coordinate data collection to aid future reviews and allow for clinically meaningful conclusions to be drawn.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO registration CRD42018092867

Peer Review reports

Student mental health has become a regular feature across media outlets in the United Kingdom (UK), with frequent warnings in the media that the sector is facing a ‘mental health crisis’ [ 1 ]. These claims are largely based on the work of regulatory authorities and ‘grey’ literature. Such sources corroborate an increase in the prevalence of mental health difficulties amongst students. In 2013, 1 in 5 students reported having a mental health problem [ 2 ]. Only 3 years later, however, this figure increased to 1 in 4 [ 3 ]. In real terms, this equates to 21,435 students disclosing mental health problems in 2013 rising to 49,265 in 2017 [ 4 ]. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) demonstrates a 210% increase in the number of students terminating their studies reportedly due to poor mental health [ 5 ], while the number of students dying by suicide has consistently increased in the past decade [ 6 ].

This issue is not isolated to the UK. In the United States (US), the prevalence of student mental health problems and use of counselling services has steadily risen over the past 6 years [ 7 ]. A large international survey of more than 14,000 students across 8 countries (Australia, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Spain and the United States) found that 35% of students met the diagnostic criteria for at least one common mental health condition, with highest rates found in Australia and Germany [ 8 ].

The above figures all pertain to undergraduate students. Finding equivalent information for postgraduate students is more difficult, and where available tends to combine data for postgraduate taught students and doctoral researchers (DRs; also known as PhD students or postgraduate researchers) (e.g. [ 4 ]). The latest trend analysis based on data from 36 countries suggests that approximately 2.3% of people will enrol in a PhD programme during their lifetime [ 9 ]. The countries with the highest number of DRs are the US, Germany and the UK [ 10 ]. At present, there are more than 281,360 DRs currently registered across these three countries alone [ 11 , 12 ], making them a significant part of the university population. The aim of this systematic review is to bring attention specifically to the mental health of DRs by summarising the available evidence on this issue.

Using a mixed methods approach, including meta-analysis and meta-synthesis, this review seeks to answer three research questions: (1) What is the prevalence of mental health difficulties amongst DRs? (2) What are the risk factors associated with poor mental health in DRs? And (3) what are the protective factors associated with good mental health in DRs?

Literature search

We conducted a search of the titles and abstracts of all article types within the following databases: AMED, BNI, CINAHL, Embase, HBE, HMIC, Medline, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. The same search terms were used within all of the databases, and the search was completed on the 13th April 2018. Our search terms were selected to capture the variable terms used to describe DRs, as well as the terms used to describe mental health, mental health problems and related constructs. We also reviewed the reference lists of all the papers included in this review. Full details of the search strategy are provided in the supplementary material .

Inclusion criteria

Articles meeting the following criteria were considered eligible for inclusion: (1) the full text was available in English; (2) the article presented empirical data; (3) all study participants, or a clearly delineated sub-set, were studying at the doctoral level for a research degree (DRs or equivalent); and (4) the data collected related to mental health constructs. The last of these criteria was operationalised (a) for quantitative studies as having at least one mental health-related outcome measure, and (b) for qualitative studies as having a discussion guide that included questions related to mental health. We included university-published theses and dissertations as these are subjected to a minimum level of peer-review by examiners.

Exclusion criteria

In order to reduce heterogeneity and focus the review on doctoral research as opposed to practice-based training, we excluded articles where participants were studying at the doctoral level, but their training did not focus on research (e.g. PsyD doctorate in Clinical Psychology).

Screening articles

Papers were screened by one of the present authors at the level of title, then abstract, and finally at full text (Fig. 1 ). Duplicates were removed after screening at abstract. At each level of screening, a random 20% sub-set of articles were double screened by another author, and levels of agreement were calculated (Cohen’s kappa [ 13 ]). Where disagreements occurred between authors, a third author was consulted to decide whether the paper should or should not be included. All kappa values evidence at least moderate agreement between authors [ 14 ]—see Fig. 1 for exact kappa values.

PRISMA diagram of literature review process

Data extraction

This review reports on both quantitative and qualitative findings, and separate extraction methods were used for each. Data extraction was performed by authors CH, CB, SV and LC.

Quantitative data extraction

The articles in this review used varying methods and measures. To accommodate this heterogeneity, multiple approaches were used to extract quantitative data. Where available, we extracted (a) descriptive statistics, (b) correlations and (c) a list of key findings. For all mental health outcome measures, we extracted the means and standard deviations for the DR participants, and where available for the control group (descriptive statistics). For studies utilising a within-subjects study design, we extracted data where a mental health outcome measure was correlated with another construct (correlations). Finally, to ensure that we did not lose important findings that did not use descriptive statistics or correlations, we extracted the key findings from the results sections of each paper (list of key findings). Key findings were identified as any type of statistical analysis that included at least one mental health outcome.

Qualitative data extraction

In line with the meta-ethnographic method [ 15 ] and our interest in the empirical data as well as the authors’ interpretations thereof, i.e. the findings of each article [ 16 ], the data extracted from the articles comprised both results/findings and discussion/conclusion sections. For articles reporting qualitative findings, we extracted the results and discussion sections from articles verbatim. Where articles used mixed methods, only the qualitative section of the results was extracted. Methodological and setting details from each article were also extracted and provided (see Appendix A) in order to contextualise the studies.

Data analysis

Quantitative data analysis, descriptive statistics.

We present frequencies and percentages of the constructs measured, the tools used and whether basic descriptive statistics ( M and SD ) were reported. The full data file is available from the first author upon request.

Effect sizes

Where studies had a control group, we calculated a between-group effect size (Cohen’s d ) using the formula reported by Wilson [ 17 ], and interpreted using the standard criteria [ 13 ]. For all other studies, we sought to compare results with normative data where the following criteria were satisfied: (a) at least three studies reported data using the same mental health assessment tool; (b) empirical normative data were available; and (c) the scale mean/total had been calculated following original authors’ instructions. Only the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) 10- [ 18 ] and 14-item versions [ 19 ] met these criteria. Normative data were available from a sample of adults living in the United States: collected in 2009 for the 10-item version ( n = 2000; M = 15.21; SD = 7.28) [ 20 ] and in 1983 for the 14-item version ( n = 2355; M = 19.62; SD = 7.49) [ 18 ].

The meta-analysis of PSS data was conducted using MedCalc [ 21 ], and based on a random effects model, as recommended by [ 22 ]. The between-group effect sizes (DRs versus US norms) were calculated comparing PSS means and standard deviations in the respective groups. The effect sizes were weighted using the variable variances [ 23 ].

Correlations

Where at least three studies reported data reflecting a bivariate association between a mental health and another variable, we summarised this data into a meta-analysis using the reported r coefficients and sample sizes. Again, we used MedCalc [ 21 ] to conduct the analysis using a random effects model, based on the procedure outlined by Borenstein, Hedges, Higgins and Rothstein [ 24 ]. This analysis approach involves converting correlation coefficients into Fisher’s z values [ 25 ], calculating the summary of Fisher’s z , and then converting this to a summary correlation coefficient ( r ). The effect sizes were weighted in line with the Hedges and Ollkin [ 23 ] method. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Q statistic, and I 2 value—both were interpreted according to the GRADE criteria [ 26 ]. Where correlations could not be summarised within a meta-analysis, we have reported these descriptively.

Due to the heterogenous nature of the studies, the above methods could not capture all of the quantitative data. Therefore, additional data (e.g. frequencies, statistical tests) reported in the identified articles was collated into a single document, coded as relating to prevalence, risk or protective factors and reported as a narrative review.

Qualitative data analysis

We used thematic analytic methods to analyse the qualitative data. We followed the thematic synthesis method [ 16 , 27 ] and were informed by a thematic analysis approach [ 28 , 29 ]. We took a critical realist epistemological stance [ 30 , 31 ] and aimed to bring together an analysis reflecting meaningful patterns amongst the data [ 29 ] or demi-regularities, and identifying potential social mechanisms that might influence the experience of such phenomena [ 31 ]. The focus of the meta-synthesis is interpretative rather than aggregative [ 32 ].

Coding was line by line, open and complete. Following line-by-line coding of all articles, a thematic map was created. Codes were entered on an article-by-article basis and then grouped and re-grouped into meaningful patterns. Comparisons were made across studies to attempt to identify demi-regularities or patterns and contradictions or points of departure. The thematic map was reviewed in consultation with other authors to inductively create and refine themes. Thematic summaries were created and brought together into a first draft of the thematic structure. At this point, each theme was compared against the line-by-line codes and the original articles in order to check its fit and to populate the written account with illustrative quotations.

Research rigour

The qualitative analysis was informed by independent coding by authors CB and SV, and analytic discussions with CH, SV and LC. Our objective was not to capture or achieve inter-rater reliability, rather the analysis was strengthened through involvement of authors from diverse backgrounds including past and recent PhD completion, experiences of mental health problems during PhD completion, PhD supervision experience, experience as employees in a UK university doctoral school and different nationalities. In order to enhance reflexivity, CB used a journal throughout the analytic process to help notice and bracket personal reflections on the data and the ways in which these personal reflections might impact on the interpretation [ 29 , 33 ]. The ENTREQ checklist [ 34 ] was consulted in the preparation of this report to improve the quality of reporting.

Quality assessment

Quantitative data.

The quality of the quantitative papers was assessed using the STROBE combined checklist [ 35 ]. A random 20% sub-sample of these studies were double-coded and inter-rater agreement was 0.70, indicating ‘substantial’ agreement [ 14 ]. The maximum possible quality score was 23, with a higher score indicating greater quality, with the mean average of 15.97, and a range from 0 to 22. The most frequently low-scoring criteria were incomplete reporting regarding the management of missing data, and lack of reported efforts to address potential causes of bias.

Qualitative data

There appeared to be no discernible pattern in the perceived quality of studies; the highest [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] and lowest scoring [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ] studies reflected both theses and journal publications, a variety of locations and settings and different methodologies. The most frequent low-scoring criteria were relating to the authors’ positions and reflections thereof (i.e. ‘Qualitative approach and research paradigm’, ‘Researcher characteristics and reflexivity’, ‘Techniques to enhance trustworthiness’, ‘Limitations’, ‘Conflict of interest and Funding’). Discussions of ethical issues and approval processes was also frequently absent. We identified that we foregrounded higher quality studies in our synthesis in that these studies appeared to have greater contributions reflected in the shape and content of the themes developed and were more likely to be the sources of the selected illustrative quotes.

Mixed methods approach

The goal of this review is to answer the review questions by synthesising the findings from both quantitative and/or qualitative studies. To achieve our goal, we adopted an integrated approach [ 47 ], whereby we used both quantitative and qualitative methods to answer the same review question, and draw a synthesised conclusion. Different analysis approaches were used for the quantitative and qualitative data and are therefore initially reported separately within the methods. A separate synthesised summary of the findings is then provided.

Overview of literature

Of the 52 papers included in this review (Table 1 ), 7 were qualitative, 29 were quantitative and 16 mixed methods. Most articles (35) were peer-reviewed papers, and the minority were theses (17). Only four of the articles included a control group; in three instances comprising students (but not DRs) and in the other drawn from the general population.

Quantitative results

Thirty-five papers reported quantitative data, providing 52 reported sets of mental health related data (an average of 1.49 measures per study): 24 (68.57%) measured stress, 10 (28.57%) anxiety, 9 (25.71%) general wellbeing, 5 (14.29%) social support, 3 (8.57%) depression and 1 (2.86%) self-esteem. Five studies (9.62%) used an unvalidated scale created for the purposes of the study. Fifteen studies (28.85%) did not report descriptive statistics.

Of the four studies that included a control group, only two of these reported descriptive statistics for both groups on a mental health outcome [ 66 , 69 ]. There is a small (Cohen’s d = 0.27) and large between-group effect (Cohen’s d = 1.15) when DRs were compared to undergraduate and postgraduate clinical psychology students respectively in terms of self-reported stress.

The meta-analysis of DR scores on the PSS (both 10- and 14-item versions) compared to population normative data produced a large and significant between-group effect size ( d = 1.12, 95% CI [0.52, 1.73]) in favour of DRs scoring higher on the PSS than the general population (Fig. 2 ), suggesting DRs experience significantly elevated stress. However, these findings should be interpreted in light of the significant between-study heterogeneity that can be classified as ‘considerable’ [ 26 ].

A meta-analysis of between-group effect sizes (Cohen’s d ) comparing PSS scores (both 10- and 14-item versions) from DRs and normative population data. *Studies using the 14 item version of the PSS; a positive effect size indicates DRs had a higher score on the PSS; a negative effect size indicates that the normative data produced a higher score on the PSS; black diamond = total effect size (based on random effects model); d = Cohen’s d ; Q = heterogeneity; Z = z score; I 2 = proportion of variance due to between-study heterogeneity; p = exact p value

To explore this heterogeneity, we re-ran the meta-analysis separately for the 10- and 14-item versions. The effect size remained large and significant when looking only at the studies using the 14-item version ( k = 6; d = 1.41, 95% CI [0.63, 2.19]), but was reduced and no longer significant when looking at the 10-item version only ( k = 3; d = 0.57, 95% CI [− 0.51, 1.64]). However, both effect sizes were still marred by significant heterogeneity between studies (10-item: Q = 232.02, p < .001; 14-item: Q = 356.76, p < .001).

Studies reported sufficient correlations for two separate meta-analyses; the first assessing the relationship between stress (PSS [ 18 , 19 ]) and perceived support, and the second between stress (PSS) and academic performance.

Stress x support

We included all measures related to support irrespective of whom that support came from (e.g. partner support, peer support, mentor support). The overall effect size suggests a small and significant negative correlation between stress and support ( r = − .24, 95% CI [− 0.34, − 0.13]) (see Fig. 3 ), meaning that low support is associated with greater perceived stress. However, the results should be interpreted in light of the significant heterogeneity between studies. The I 2 value quantifies this heterogeneity as almost 90% of the variance being explained by between-study heterogeneity, which is classified as ‘substantial’ (26).

Forest plot and meta-analysis of correlation coefficients testing the relationship between stress and perceived support. Black diamond = total effect size (based on random effects model); r = Pearson’s r ; Q = heterogeneity; Z = z score; I 2 = proportion of variance due to between-study heterogeneity; p = exact p value

Stress x performance

The overall effect size suggests that there is no relationship between stress and performance in their studies ( r = − .07, 95% CI [− 0.19, 0.05]) (see Fig. 4 ), meaning that DRs perception of their progress was not associated with their perceived stress This finding suggests that the amount of progress that DRs were making during their studies was not associated with stress levels.

Forest plot and meta-analysis of correlation coefficients testing the relationship between stress and performance. Black diamond = total effect size (based on random effects model); r = Pearson’s r ; Q = heterogeneity; Z = z score; I 2 = proportion of variance due to between-study heterogeneity; p = exact p value

Other correlations

Correlations reported in less than three studies are summarised in Fig. 5 . Again, stress was the most commonly tested mental health variable. Self-care and positive feelings towards the thesis were consistently found to negatively correlate with mental health constructs. Negative writing habits (e.g. perfectionism, blocks and procrastination) were consistently found to positively correlate with mental health constructs. The strongest correlations were found between stress, and health related quality of life ( r = − .62) or neuroticism ( r = .59), meaning that lower stress was associated with greater quality of life and reduced neuroticism. The weakest relationships ( r < .10) were found between mental health outcomes and: faculty concern, writing as knowledge transformation, innate writing ability (stress and anxiety), years married, locus of control, number of children and openness (stress only).

Correlation coefficients testing the relationship between a mental health outcome and other construct. Correlation coefficients are given in brackets ( r ); * p < .05; each correlation coefficient reflects the results from a single study

Several studies reported DR mental health problem prevalence and this ranged from 36.30% [ 54 ] to 55.9% [ 67 ]. Using clinical cut-offs, 32% were experiencing a common psychiatric disorder [ 64 ]; with another study finding that 53.7% met the questionnaire cut-off criteria for depression, and 41.9% for anxiety [ 67 ]. One study compared prevalence amongst DRs and the general population, employees and other higher education students; in all instances, DRs had higher levels of psychological distress (non-clinical), and met criteria for a clinical psychiatric disorder more frequently [ 64 ].

Risk factors

Demographics Two studies reported no significant difference between males and females in terms of reported stress [ 57 , 73 ], but the majority suggested female DRs report greater clinical [ 80 ], and non-clinical problems with their mental health [ 37 , 64 , 79 , 83 , 89 ].

Several studies explored how mental health difficulties differed in relation to demographic variables other than gender, suggesting that being single or not having children was associated with poorer mental health [ 64 ] as was a lower socioeconomic status [ 71 ]. One study found that mental health difficulties did not differ depending on DRs’ ethnicity [ 51 ], but another found that Black students attending ‘historically Black universities’ were significantly more anxious [ 87 ]. The majority of the studies were conducted in the US, but only one study tested for cross-cultural differences: reporting that DRs in France were more psychologically distressed than those studying in the UK [ 67 ].

Work-life balance Year of study did not appear to be associated with greater subjective stress in a study involving clinical psychology DRs (Platt and Schaefer [ 75 ]), although other studies suggested greater stress reported by those in the latter part of their studies [ 89 ], who viewed their studies as a burden [ 81 ], or had external contracts, i.e. not employed by their university [ 85 ]. Regression analyses revealed that a common predictor of poor mental health was uncertainty in DR studies; whether in relation to uncertain funding [ 64 ] or uncertain progress [ 80 ]. More than two-thirds of DRs reported general academic pressure as a cause of stress, and a lack of time as preventing them from looking after themselves [ 58 ]. Being isolated was also a strong predictor of stress [ 84 ].

Protective factors

DRs who more strongly endorsed all of the five-factor personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism) [ 66 ], self-reported higher academic achievement [ 40 ] and viewed their studies as a learning process (rather than a means to an end) [ 82 ] reported fewer mental health problems. DRs were able to mitigate poor mental health by engaging in self-care [ 72 ], having a supervisor with an inspirational leadership style [ 64 ] and building coping strategies [ 56 ]. The most frequently reported coping strategy was seeking support from other people [ 37 , 58 ].

Qualitative results

Meta-synthesis.

Four higher-order themes were identified: (1) Always alone in the struggle, (2) Death of personhood, (3) The system is sick and (4) Seeing, being and becoming. The first two themes reflect individual risk/vulnerability factors and the processes implicated in the experience of mental distress, the third represents systemic risk and vulnerability factors and the final theme reflects individual and systemic protective mechanisms and transformative influences. See Table 2 for details of the full thematic structure with illustrative quotes.

Always alone in the struggle

‘Always alone in the struggle’ reflects the isolated nature of the PhD experience. Two subthemes reflect different aspects of being alone; ‘Invisible, isolated and abandoned’ represents DRs’ sense of physical and psychological separation from others and ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ represents DRs’ sense of being solely responsible for their PhD process and experience.

Invisible, isolated and abandoned

Feeling invisible and isolated both within and outside of the academic environment appears a core DR experience [ 39 , 43 , 81 ]. Isolation from academic peers seemed especially salient for DRs with less of a physical presence on campus, e.g. part-time and distance students, those engaging in extensive fieldwork, outside employment and those with no peer research or lab group [ 36 , 52 , 68 ]. Where DRs reported relationships with DR peers, these were characterised as low quality or ‘not proper friendships’ and this appeared linked to a sense of essential and obvious competition amongst DRs with respect to current and future resources, support and opportunities [ 39 ], in which a minority of individuals were seen to receive the majority share [ 36 , 74 ]. Intimate sharing with peers thus appeared to feel unsafe. This reflected the competitive environment but also a sense of peer relationships being predicated on too shared an experience [ 39 ].

In addition to poor peer relations, a mismatch between the expected and observed depth of supervisor interest, engagement and was evident [ 40 , 81 ]. This mismatch was clearly associated with disappointment and anger, and a sense of abandonment, which appeared to impact negatively on DR mental health and wellbeing [ 42 ] (p. 182). Moreover, DRs perceived academic departments as complicit in their isolation; failing to offer adequate opportunities for academic and social belonging and connections [ 42 , 81 ] and including PGRs only in a fleeting or ‘hollow’ sense [ 37 ]. DRs identified this isolation as sending a broader message about academia as a solitary and unsupported pursuit; a message that could lead some DRs to self-select out of planning for future in academia [ 37 , 42 ]. DRs appeared to make sense of their lack of belonging in their department as related to their sense of being different, and that this difference might suggest they did not ‘fit in’ with academia more broadly [ 74 ]. In the short-term, DRs might expend more effort to try and achieve a social and/or professional connection and equitable access to support, opportunities and resources [ 74 ]. However, over the longer-term, the continuing perception of being professionally ‘other’ also seemed to undermine DRs’ sense of meaning and purpose [ 81 ] and could lead to opting out of an academic career [ 62 , 74 ].

Isolation within the PhD was compounded by isolation from one’s personal relationships. This personal isolation was first physical, in which the laborious nature of the PhD acted as a catalyst for the breakdown of pre-existing relationships [ 76 ]. Moreover, DRs also experienced a sense of psychological detachment [ 45 , 74 ]. Thus, the experience of isolation appeared to be extremely pervasive, with DRs feeling excluded and isolated physically and psychologically and across both their professional and personal lives.

It’s not you, it’s me

‘It’s not you, it’s me’ reflects DRs’ perfectionism as a central challenge of their PhD experience and a contributor to their sense of psychological isolation from other people. DRs’ perfectionism manifested in four key ways; firstly, in the overwhelming sense of responsibility experienced by DRs; secondly, in the tendency to position themselves as inadequate and inferior; thirdly, in cycles of perfectionist paralysis; and finally, in the tendency to find evidence which confirms their assumed inferiority.

DRs positioned themselves as solely responsible for their PhD and for the creation of a positive relationship with their supervisor [ 36 , 52 , 81 ]. DRs expressed a perceived need to capture their supervisors’ interest and attention [ 36 , 52 , 74 ], feeling that they needed to identify and sell to their supervisors some shared characteristic or interest in order to scaffold a meaningful relationship. DRs appeared to feel it necessary to assume sole responsibility for their personal lives and to prohibit any intrusion of the personal in to the professional, even in incredibly distressing circumstances [ 42 ].

DRs appeared to compare themselves against an ideal or archetypal DR and this comparison was typically unfavourable [ 37 ], with DRs contrasting the expected ideal self with their actual imperfect and fallible self [ 37 , 42 , 52 ]. DRs’ sense of inadequacy appeared acutely and frequently reflected back to them by supervisors in the form of negative or seemingly disdainful feedback and interactions [ 41 , 76 ]. DRs framed negative supervisor responses as a cue to work harder, meaning they were continually striving, but never reaching, the DR ideal [ 76 ]. This ideal-actual self-discrepancy was associated with a tendency towards punitive self-talk with clear negative valence [ 38 ].

DRs appear to commonly use self-castigation as a necessary (albeit insufficient) means to motivate themselves to improve their performance in line with perfectionistic standards [ 38 , 41 ]. The oscillation between expectation and actuality ultimately resulted in increased stress and anxiety and reduced enjoyment and motivation. Low motivation and enjoyment appeared to cause procrastination and avoidance, which lead to a greater discrepancy between the ideal and actual self; in turn, this caused more stress and anxiety and further reduced enjoyment and motivation leading to a sense of stuckness [ 76 ].

The internalisation of perceived failure was such that DRs appeared to make sense of their place, progress and possible futures through a lens of inferiority, for example, positioning themselves as less talented and successful compared to their peers [ 37 ]. Thus, instances such as not being offered a job, not receiving funding, not feeling connected to supervisors, feeling excluded by academics and peers were all made sense of in relation to DRs’ perceived relative inadequacy [ 36 ].

Death of personhood

The higher-order theme ‘Death of personhood’ reflects DRs’ identity conflict during the PhD process; a sense that DRs’ engage in a ‘Sacrifice of personal identity’ in which they feel they must give up their pre-existing self-identity, begin to conceive of themselves as purely ‘takers’ personally and professionally, thus experiencing the ‘Self as parasitic’, and ultimately experience a ‘Death of self-agency’ in relation to the thesis, the supervisor and other life roles and activities.

A sacrifice of personal identity

The sacrifice of personal identity first manifests as an enmeshment with the PhD and consequent diminishment of other roles, relationships and activities that once were integral to the DRs’ sense of self [ 59 , 76 ]. DRs tended to prioritise PhD activities to the extent that they engaged in behaviours that were potentially damaging to their personal relationships [ 76 ]. DRs reported a sense of never being truly free; almost physically burdened by the weight of their PhD and carrying with them a constant ambient guilt [ 37 , 38 , 44 , 76 ]. Time spent on non-PhD activities was positioned as selfish or indulgent, even very basic activities of living [ 76 ].

The seeming incompatibility of aspects of prior personal identity and the PhD appears to result in a sense of internal conflict or identity ‘collision’ [ 59 ]. Friends and relatives often provided an uncomfortable reflection of the DR’s changing identity, leaving DRs feeling hyper-visible and carrying the burden of intellect or trailblazer status [ 74 ]; providing further evidence for the incompatibility of their personal and current and future professional identities. Some DRs more purposefully pruned their relationships and social activities; to avoid identity dissonance, to conserve precious time and energy for their PhD work, or as an acceptance of total enmeshment with academic work as necessary (although not necessarily sufficient) for successful continuation in academia [ 40 , 52 , 77 ]. Nevertheless, the diminishment of the personal identity did not appear balanced by the development of a positive professional identity. The professional DR identity was perceived as unclear and confusing, and the adoption of an academic identity appeared to require DRs to have a greater degree of self-assurance or self-belief than was often the case [ 37 , 81 ].

Self as parasitic

Another change in identity manifested as DRs beginning to conceive of themselves as parasitic. DRs spoke of becoming ‘takers’, feeling that they were unable to provide or give anything to anyone. For some DRs, being ‘parasitic’ reflected them being on the bottom rung of the professional ladder or the ‘bottom of the pile’; thus, professionally only able to receive support and assistance rather than to provide for others. Other DRs reported more purposefully withdrawing from activities in which they were a ‘giver’, for example voluntary work, as providing or caring for others required time or energy that they no longer had [ 38 , 44 ]. Furthermore, DRs appeared to conceive of themselves as also causing difficulty or harm to others [ 81 ], as problems in relation to their PhD could lead them to unwillingly punishing close others, for example, through reducing the duration or quality of time spent together [ 38 ].

Feeling that close others were offering support appeared to heighten the awareness of the toll of the PhD on the individual and their close relationships, emphasising the huge undertaking and the often seemingly slow progress, and actually contributing to the sense of ambient guilt, shame, anger and failure [ 38 ]. Moreover, DRs spoke of feeling extreme guilt in perceiving that they had possibly sacrificed their own, and possibly family members’, current wellbeing and future financial security [ 49 ].

Death of self-agency

In addition to their sense of having to sacrifice their personal identity, DRs also expressed a loss of their sense of themselves as agentic beings. DRs expressed feeling powerless in various domains of their lives. First, DRs positioned the thesis as a powerful force able to overwhelm or swallow them [ 46 , 52 , 59 ]. Secondly, DRs expressed a sense of futility in trying to retain any sense of personal power in the climate of academia. An acute feeling of powerlessness especially in relation to supervisors was evident, with many examples provided of being treated as means to an end, as opposed to ends in themselves [ 39 , 42 , 62 ]. Supervisors did not interact with DRs in a holistic way that recognised their personhood and instead were perceived as prioritising their own will, or the will of other academics, above that of the DR [ 39 , 62 ].

Furthermore, DRs reported feeling as if they were used as a means for research production or furthering their supervisors’ reputations or careers [ 62 ]. DRs perceived that holding on to a sense of personal agency sometimes felt incompatible with having a positive supervisor relationship [ 42 ]. Thus whilst emotional distress, anger, disappointment, sadness, jealousy and resentment were clearly evident in relation to feeling excluded, used or over-powered by supervisors [ 37 , 42 , 52 , 62 ], DRs usually felt unable to change supervisor irrespective of how seriously this relationship had degraded [ 37 , 62 ]. Instead, DRs appeared to take on a position of resignation or defensive pessimism, in which they perceived their supervisors as thwarting their personhood, personal goals and preferences, but typically felt compelled to accept this as the status quo and focus on finishing their PhDs [ 42 ]. DRs resignation was such that they internalised this culture of silence and silenced themselves; tending to share litanies of problems with supervisors whilst prefacing or ending the statements with some contradictory or undermining phrase such as ‘but that’s okay’ [ 42 , 52 ].

The apparent lack of self-agency extended outward from the PhD into DRs not feeling able to curate positive life circumstances more generally [ 76 ]. A lack of time was perhaps the key struggle across both personal and professional domains, yet DRs paradoxically reported spending a lot of time procrastinating and rarely (if ever) mentioned time management as a necessary or desired coping strategy for the problem of having too little time [ 46 ]. The lack of self-agency was not only current but also felt in reference to a bleak and uncertain future; DRs lack of surety in a future in academia and the resultant sense of futility further undermined their motivation to engage currently with PhD tasks [ 38 , 40 ].

The system is sick

The higher-order theme ‘The system is sick’ represents systemic influences on DR mental health. First, ‘Most everyone’s mad here’ reflects the perceived ubiquity mental health problems amongst DRs. ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ reflects the DR experience of engaging in a performative piece in which they attempt to live in accordance with systemic rather than personal values. Finally, ‘Beware the invisible and visible walls’ reflects concerns with being caught between ephemeral but very real institutional divides.

Most everyone’s mad here

No studies focused explicitly on experiences of DRs who had been given diagnoses of mental health problems. Some study participants self-disclosed mental health problems and emphasised their pervasive impact [ 50 ]. Further lived experiences of mental distress in the absence of explicit disclosure were also clearly identifiable. The ‘typical’ presentation of DRs with respect to mental health appeared characterised as almost unanimous [ 39 ] accounts of chronic stress, anxiety and depression, emotional distress including frustration, anger and irritability, lack of mental and physical energy, somatic problems including appetite problems, headaches, physical pain, nausea and problems with drug and alcohol abuse [ 39 , 46 , 59 , 76 ]. Health anxiety, concerns regarding perceived new and unusual bodily sensations and perceived risks of developing stress-related illnesses were also common [ 46 , 59 , 76 ]. A PhD-specific numbness and hypervigilance was also reported, in which DRs might be less responsive to personal life stressors but develop an extreme sensitivity and reactivity to PhD-relevant stimuli [ 39 ].

An interplay of trait and state factors were suggested to underlie the perceived ubiquity of mental health problems amongst DRs. Etiological factors associated with undertaking a PhD specifically included the high workload, high academic standards, competing personal and professional demands, social isolation, poor resources in the university, poor living conditions and poverty, future and career uncertainty [ 36 , 41 , 43 , 46 , 49 , 76 ]. The ‘nexus’ of these factors was such that the PhD itself acted as a crucible; a process of such intensity that developing mental health problems was perhaps inevitable [ 39 ].

The perceived inevitability of mental health problems was such that DRs described people who did not experience mental health problems during a PhD as ‘lucky’ [ 39 ]. Supervisors and the wider academic system were seen to promote an expectation of suffering, for example, with academics reportedly normalising drug and alcohol problems and encouraging unhealthy working practices [ 39 ]. Furthermore, DRs felt that academics were uncaring with respect to the mental challenge of doing a PhD [ 39 ]. Nevertheless, academics were suggested to deny any culpability or accountability for mental health problems amongst DRs [ 39 , 59 , 74 ]. The cycle of indigenousness was further maintained by a lack of mental health literacy and issues with awareness, availability and access to help-seeking and treatment options amongst DRs and academics more widely [ 39 ]. Thus, DRs appeared to feel they were being let down by a system that was almost set up to cause mental distress, but within which there was a widespread denial of the size and scope of the problem and little effort put into identifying and providing solutions [ 39 , 59 ]. DRs ultimately felt that the systemic encouragement of unhealthy lifestyles in pursuit of academic success was tantamount to abuse [ 62 ].

A performance of optimum suffering

Against a backdrop of expected mental distress, DRs expressed their PhD as a performative piece. DRs first had to show just the right amount of struggle and difficulty; feeling that if they did not exhibit enough stress, distress and ill-health, their supervisors or the wider department might not believe they were taking their PhD seriously enough [ 40 ]. At the same time, DRs felt that their ‘researcher mettle’ was constantly being tested and they must rise to this challenge. This included first guarding against presenting oneself as intellectually inferior [ 36 ]. Yet it also seemed imperative not to show vulnerability more broadly [ 74 ]. Disclosing mental or physical health problems might lead not only to changed perceptions of the DR but to material disadvantage [ 74 ]. The poor response to mental health disclosures suggested to some DRs that universities might be purposefully trying to dissuade or discourage DRs with mental health problems or learning disabilities from continuing [ 74 ]. The performative piece is thus multi-layered, in that DRs must experience extreme internal psychological struggles, exhibit some lower-level signs of stress and fatigue for peer and faculty observance, yet avoid expressing any real academic or interpersonal weakness or the disclosure of any diagnosable disability or disease.

Emperor’s new clothes

DRs described feeling beholden to the prevailing culture in which it was expected to prioritise above all else developing into a competitive, self-promoting researcher in a high-performing research-active institution [ 39 , 42 ]. Supervisors often appeared the conduit for transmission of this academic ideal [ 74 ]. DRs felt reticent to act in any way which suggested that they did not personally value the pursuit of a leading research career above all else. For example, DRs felt that valuing teaching was non-conformist and could endanger their continuing success within their current institution [ 55 ]. Many DRs thus exhibited a sense of dissonance as their personal values often did not align with the institutional values they identified [ 74 ]. Yet DRs expressed a sense of powerlessness and a feeling of being ‘caught up’ in the values of the institution even when such values were personally incongruent [ 74 ]. The psychological toll of this sense of inauthenticity seemed high [ 55 ]. Where DRs acted in ways which ostensibly suggested values other than prioritising a research career, for example becoming pregnant, they sensed disapproval [ 76 ]. DRs also felt unable to challenge other ‘institutional myths’ for example, the perceived institutional denial of the duration of and financial struggle involved in completing a PhD [ 49 ]. There was a perceived tendency of academics to locate problems within DRs as opposed to acknowledging institutional or systemic inequalities [ 49 ]. DRs expressed strongly a sense in which there is inequity in support, resources and opportunities, yet universities were perceived as ignoring such inequity or labelling such divisions as based on meritocracy [ 36 , 74 ].

Beware the invisible and visible walls

DRs described the reality of working in academia as needing to negotiate a maze of invisible and visible walls. In the former case, ‘invisible walls’ reflect ephemeral norms and rules that govern academia. DRs felt that a big part of their continuing success rested upon being able to negotiate such rules [ 39 ]. Where rules were violated and explicit or implicit conflicts occurred, DRs were seen to be vulnerable to being caught in the ‘crossfire’ [ 36 ]. DRs identified academic groups and departments as being poor in explicitly identifying, discussing and resolving conflicts [ 37 ]. The intangibility of the ‘invisible walls’ gave rise to a sense of ambient anxiety about inadvertently transgressing norms and divides, such that some DRs reported behaving in ways that surprised even themselves [ 37 ].

Gendered and racial micropolitics of academic institutions were seen to manifest as more visible walls between people, with institutions privileging those with ‘insider’ status [ 36 ]. Women and people of colour typically felt excluded or disadvantaged in a myriad of observable and unobservable ways, with individuals able to experience both insider and outsider statuses simultaneously [ 36 , 37 ], for example when a male person of colour [ 36 ]. Female DRs suggested that not only must women prove themselves to a greater extent than men to receive equal access to resources, opportunities and acclaim but also are typically under additional pressure in both their professional and personal lives [ 37 , 52 , 76 ]. Women also felt that they had to take on more additional roles and responsibilities and encountered more conflicts in their personal lives compared to men [ 52 ]. Examples of professionally successful women in DRs’ departments were described as those who had crossed the divide and adopted a more traditionally male role [ 40 ]. Thus, being female or non-White were considered visible characteristics that would disadvantage people in the competitive academic environment and could give rise to a feeling of increased stress, pressure, role conflicts, and a feeling of being unsafe.

Seeing, being and becoming

The higher-order theme of ‘Seeing, being and becoming’ reflects protective and transformative influences on DR mental health. ‘De-programming’ refers to the DRs disentangling their personal beliefs and values from systemic values and also from their own tendency towards perfectionism. ‘The power of being seen’ reflects the positive impact on DR mental health afforded by feeling visible to personal and professional others. ‘Finding hope, meaning and authenticity’ refers to processes by which DRs can find or re-locate their own self-agency, purpose and re/establish a sense of living in accordance with their values. ‘The importance of multiple goals, roles and groups’ represents the beneficial aspects of accruing and sustaining multiple aspects to one’s identity and connections with others and activities outside the PhD. Finally, ‘The PhD as a process of transcendence’ reflects how the struggles involved in completing a PhD can be transformative and self-actualising.

De-programming

DRs reported being able to protect their mental health by ‘de-programming’ and disentangling their attitudes and practices from social and systemic values and norms. This disentangling helped negate DRs’ adopting unhealthy working practices and offered some protection against experiencing inauthenticity and dissonance between personal and systemic values.

First, DRs spoke of rejecting the belief that they should sacrifice or neglect personal relationships, outside interests and their self-identity in pursuit of academic achievement. DRs could opt-out entirely by choosing a ‘user-friendly’ programme [ 44 ] which encouraged balance between personal and professional goals, or else could psychologically reject the prevailing institutional discourse [ 40 ]. Rather than halting success, de-programming from the prioritisation of academia above all else was seen to be associated not only with reduced stress but greater confidence, career commitment and motivation [ 40 , 50 ]. It was also suggested possible to ‘de-programme’ in the sense of choosing not to be preoccupied by the ‘invisible walls’ of academia and psychologically ‘opt out’ of being concerned by potential conflicts, norms and rules governing academic workplace conduct [ 36 ]. Interaction with people outside of academia was seen to scaffold de-programming, by helping DRs to stay ‘grounded’ and offering a model what ‘normal’ life looks like. People outside of academia could also help DRs to see the truth by providing unbiased opinions regarding systemic practices [ 39 ].

A further way in which de-programming manifested was in DRs challenging their perfectionist beliefs. This include re-framing the goal as not trying to be the archetype of a perfect DR, and accepting that multiple demands placed on one individual invariably requires compromise [ 40 , 76 ]. DRs spoke of the need to conceptualise the PhD as a process, rather than just a product [ 46 , 82 ]. The process orientation facilitated framing of the PhD as just one-step in the broader process of becoming an academic as opposed to providing discrete evidence of worth [ 82 ]. Within this perspective, uncertainty itself could be conceived as a privilege [ 81 ]. The PhD was then seen as an opportunity rather than a test [ 37 , 46 ]. Moreover, the process orientation facilitated viewing the PhD as a means of growing into a contributing member of the research community, as opposed to needing to prove oneself to be accepted [ 82 ]. Remembering the temporary nature of the PhD was advised [ 45 ] as was holding on to a sense that not completing the PhD was also a viable life choice [ 76 ]. DRs also expressed, implicitly or explicitly, a decision to change their conceptualisation of themselves and their progress; choosing not to perceive themselves as stuck, but planning, learning and progressing [ 38 , 39 , 81 , 82 ]. This new perspective appeared to be helpful in reducing mental distress.

The power of being seen

DRs described powerful benefits to feeling seen by other people, including a sense of belonging and mattering, increased self-confidence and a sense of positive progress [ 37 ]. Being seen by others seems to provoke the genesis of an academic identity; it brings DRs into existence as academics. Being seen within the academic institution also supports mental health and can buffer emotional exhaustion [ 37 , 52 , 55 , 81 ]. DRs expressed a need to feel that supervisors, academics and peers were interested in them as people, their values, goals, struggles and successes; yet they also needed to feel that they and their research mattered and made a difference within and outside of the institution [ 42 , 52 , 81 ]. It was clear that DRs could find in their disciplinary communities the sense of belonging that often eluded them within their immediate departments [ 42 ]. Feeling a sense of belonging to the academic community seemed to buffer disengagement and amotivation during the PhD [ 81 ]. Positive engagement with the broader community was scaffolded by a sense of trust in the supervisor [ 81 ]. DRs often felt seen and supported by postdocs, especially where supervisors appeared absent or unsupportive [ 50 ].

Spending time with peers could be beneficial when there was a sense of shared experience and walking alongside each other [ 39 ]. Friendship was seen to buffer stress and protect against mental health problems through the provision of social and emotional support and help in identifying struggles [ 39 , 43 ]. In addition to relational aspects, the provision of designated physical spaces on campus or in university buildings also seemed important to being seen [ 37 ]. Peers in the university could provide DRs with further physical embodiments of being seen, for example, gift-giving in response to their birthdays or returning from leave [ 37 , 50 ]. Outside of the academic institution, DRs described how being seen by close others could support DRs to be their authentic selves, providing an antidote to the invisible walls of academia [ 50 ]. Good quality friendships within or outside academia could be life-changing, providing a visceral sense of connection, belonging and authenticity that can scaffold positive mental health outcomes during the PhD [ 39 ]. Pets could also serve to help DRs feel seen but without needing to extend too much energy into maintaining social relationships [ 50 ].

Finally, DRs also needed to see themselves, i.e. to begin to see themselves as burgeoning academics as opposed to ‘just students’ [ 81 ]. Feeling that the supervisor and broader academic community were supportive, developing one’s own network of process collaborators and successfully obtaining grant funding seemed tangible markers that helped DRs to see themselves as academics [ 37 , 81 ]. Seeing their own work published was also helpful in providing a boost in confidence and being a joyful experience [ 42 ]. Moreover, with sufficient self-agency, DRs can not only see themselves but render themselves visible to other people [ 37 ].

Multiple goals, roles and groups

In antidote to the diminished personal identity and enmeshment with the PhD, DRs benefitted from accruing and sustaining multiple goals, roles, occupations, activities and social group memberships. Although ‘costly’ in terms of increased stress and role conflicts, sustaining multiple roles and activities appeared essential for protecting against mental health problems [ 50 , 68 ].

Leisure activities appeared to support mental health through promoting physical health, buffering stress, providing an uplift to DRs’ mood and through the provision of another identity other than as an academic [ 44 , 50 , 76 ]. Furthermore, engagement in activities helped DRs to find a sense of freedom, allowing them to carve up leisure and work time and psychologically detach from their PhD [ 68 , 76 ]. Competing roles, especially family, forced DRs to distance themselves from the PhD physically which reinforced psychological separation [ 50 , 59 ]. Engaging in self-care and enjoyable activities provided a sense of balance and normalcy [ 39 , 44 , 68 ]. This normalcy was a needed antidote to abnormal pressure [ 59 ]. Even in the absence of fiercely competing roles and priorities, DRs still appeared to benefit from treating their PhD as if it is only one aspect of life [ 59 ]. Additional roles and activities reduced enmeshment with the PhD to the extent that considering not completing the PhD was less averse [ 40 ]. This position appeared to help DRs to be less overwhelmed and less sensitive to perceived and anticipated failures.

Finding hope, meaning and authenticity

Finding hopefulness and meaning within the PhD can scaffold a sense of living a purposeful, enjoyable, important and authentic life. Hopefulness is predicated on the ability to identify a goal, i.e. to visualise and focus on the desired outcome and to experience both self-agency and potential pathways towards the goal. Hopefulness was enhanced by the ability to break down tasks into smaller goals and progress in to ‘baby steps’ [ 38 , 59 ]. In addition, DRs benefitted from finding explicit milestones against which they can compare their progress [ 59 ], as this appeared to feed back into the cycle of hopeful thinking and spur further self-agency and goal pursuit.

The experience of meaning manifested in two main ways; first as the more immediate lived experience of passion in action [ 76 ]. Secondly, DRs found meaning in feeling that in their PhD and lives more broadly they were living in accordance with their values, for example, experiencing their own commitment in action through continuing to work on their PhD even when it was difficult to do so [ 76 ]. DRs who were able to locate their PhD within a broader sense of purpose appeared to derive wellbeing benefits. There was a need to ensure that values were in alignment, for example, finding homeostasis between emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual parts of the self [ 46 , 59 , 90 ].

The processes of finding hopefulness and meaning appear to be largely relational. Frequent contact with supervisors in person and social and academic contact with other DRs were basic scaffolds for hope and meaning [ 52 ]. DRs spoke of how a sense that their supervisors believed in them inspired their self-agency and motivation [ 42 , 62 , 76 ]. Partners, friends and family could also inspire motivation for continuing in PhD tasks [ 44 , 76 ]. Other people also could help instil a sense of motivation to progress and complete the PhD; a sense of being seen is to be beholden to finish [ 39 ]. Meaning appeared to be scaffolded by a sense of contribution, belonging and mattering [ 81 ] and could arise from the perception of putting something into the collective pot, inspiring hopefulness and helping others [ 39 , 42 ]. Moreover, hopefulness, meaning and authenticity also appeared mutually reinforcing [ 81 ]. Finding meaning and working on a project which is in accordance with personal values, preferences and interests is also helpful in completing the PhD and provides a feedback loop into hope, motivation and agentic thinking [ 39 , 81 ]. Furthermore, DRs could use agentic action to source a community of people who share their values, enabling them to engage in collective authenticity [ 39 ].

The PhD as a process of transcendence

The immense challenge of the PhD could be a catalyst for growth, change and self-actualisation, involving empowerment through knowledge, self-discovery, and developing increased confidence, maturity, capacity for self-direction and use of one’s own autonomy [ 44 , 82 ]. The PhD acted as a forge in which DRs were tested and became remoulded into something greater than they had been before [ 44 , 82 , 90 ]. The struggles endured during the PhD caused DRs to reconsider their sense of their own capacities, believing themselves to be more able than they previously would have thought [ 50 ]. The struggles endured added to the sense of accomplishment. A trusted and trusting supervisor appears to aid in the PhD being a process of transcendence [ 62 ].

More broadly, the PhD also helped DRs to transcend personal tragedy, allowing immersion in a meaningful activity which begins as a means of coping and becomes something completely [ 39 ]. The PhD could also serve as a transformative selection process for DRs’ social relationships, with some relationships cast aside and yet others formed anew [ 39 ]. Overall, therefore, the very aspects of the PhD which were challenging, and distressing could allow DRs to transcend their former selves and, through the struggle, become something more.

Summation of results

The findings regarding the risk and protective factors associated with DR mental health have been summarised in Table 3 in relation to (1) the type of research evidencing the factor (i.e. whether the evidence is quantitative only, part of the meta-synthesis only, or evident in both results sections); and (2) the volume of evidence (i.e. whether the factor was found in a single study or across multiple studies). The factors in the far-right column (i.e. the factors found across multiple research studies utilising both qualitative and quantitative methods) are the ones with the strongest evidence at present.

This systematic review summarises a heterogeneous research area, with the aim of understanding the mental health of DRs, including possible risk and protective factors. The qualitative and quantitative findings presented here suggest that poor mental health is a pertinent problem facing DRs; stress appears to be a key issue and significantly in excess of that experienced in the general population. Several risk and protective factors at the individual, interpersonal and systemic levels emerged as being important in determining the mental health of DRs. The factors with the strongest evidence-base (i.e. those supported by multiple studies using qualitative and quantitative findings) denote that being female and isolated increases the risk of the mental health problems, whereas seeing the PhD as a process, feeling socially supported, having a positive supervisor relationship and engaging in self-care is protective.

Results in context

Stress can be defined as (1) the extent to which a stimulus exerts pressure on an individual, and their propensity to bear the load; (2) the duration of the response to an aversive stimuli, from initial alert to exhaustion; or (3) a dynamic (im)balance between the demands and personal resource to manage those demands [ 91 ]. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) [ 18 , 19 ] used in our meta-analysis is aligned with the third of these definitions. As elaborated upon within the Transactional Model of Stress [ 92 ], stress is conceptualised as a persons’ appraisal of the internal and external demands put upon them, and whether these exceed their available resources. Thus, our results suggest that, when compared to the general population, PhD students experience a greater maladaptive imbalance between their available resources and the demands placed upon them. Stress in itself is not a diagnosable mental health problem, yet chronic stress is a common precipitant to mental health difficulties such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder [ 93 , 94 ]. Therefore, interventions should seek to bolster DRs’ resources and limit demands placed on them to minimise the risks associated with acute stress and limit its chronicity.

Individual factors

Female DRs were identified as being at particular risk of developing mental health difficulties. This may result from additional hurdles when studying in a male-dominated profession [ 95 , 96 , 97 ], and the expectation that in addition to their doctoral studies, females should retain sole or majority responsibility for the domestic and/or caring duties within their family [ 52 , 76 ]. It may also be that females are more willing to disclose and seek help for mental health difficulties [ 98 ]. Nevertheless, the World Health Organisation (WHO) mental health survey results indicate that whilst anxiety and mood disorders are more prevalent amongst females, externalising disorders are more common in males [ 99 ]. As the vast majority of studies in this review focussed on internalising problems (e.g. stress, anxiety and depression) [ 37 , 64 , 79 , 80 , 83 , 89 ], this may explain the gender differences found in this review. Further research is needed to explore which perspective, if any, may explain gender gap in our results.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, self-care was associated with reduced mental health problems. The quantitative findings suggest that all types of self-care are likely to be protective of mental health (i.e. physical, emotional, professional and spiritual self-care). Self-care affords DRs the opportunity to take time away from their studies and nurture their non-PhD identities. However, the results from our meta-synthesis suggest that DRs are not attending to their most basic needs much less engaging in self-care behaviours that correspond to psychological and/or self-fulfilment needs [ 100 ]. Consequently, an important area for future enquiry will be identifying the barriers preventing DRs from engaging in self-care.

Interpersonal factors

Across both quantitative and qualitative studies, interpersonal factors emerged as the most salient correlate of DR mental health. That is, isolation was a risk factor, whereas connectedness to others was a protective factor. There was some variability in how these constructs were conceptualised across studies, i.e. (1) isolation: a lack of social support, having fewer social connections, feeling isolated or being physically separate from others; and (2) social connectedness: multiple group membership, academic relationships or non-academic relationships; but there was no indication that effects varied between concepts. The relationship between isolation and negative health consequences is well-established, for example both physical and mental health problems [ 101 ], and even increased mortality [ 102 ]. Conversely, social support is associated with reduced stress in the workplace [ 103 , 104 ]. Reducing isolation is therefore a promising interventional target for improving DRs’ mental health.

The findings regarding isolation are even more alarming when considered alongside the findings from several studies that PhD studies are consistently reported to dominate the lives of DRs, resulting in poor ‘work-life balance’ and losing non-PhD aspects of their identities. The negative impact of having fewer identities [ 105 ] can be mitigated by having a strong support network [ 106 ], and increasing multiple group memberships [ 107 ]. But for DRs, it is perhaps the absence of this social support, combined with identity impoverishment, which can explain the higher than average prevalence of stress found in our meta-analysis.

Systemic factors

DRs’ attitudes towards their studies may be a product of top-down systemic issues in academia more broadly. Experiencing mental health problems was reported as being the ‘norm’, but also appeared to be understood as a sign of weakness. The meta-synthesis results suggest that DRs believed their respective universities prioritise academic success over workplace wellbeing and encourage unhealthy working habits. Working in an unsupportive and pressured environment is strongly associated with negative psychological outcomes, including increased depression, anxiety and burnout [ 108 ]. The supervisory relationship appeared a particularly important aspect of the workplace environment. The quantitative analysis found a negative correlation between inspirational supervision and mental health problems. Meta-synthetic finding suggested toxic DR-supervisor relationships characterised by powerlessness and neglect, as well as relationships where DRs felt valued and respected—the former of these being associated with poor mental health, and the latter being protective. The association between DR-supervisor relationship characteristics needs to be verified using quantitative methods. Furthermore, DRs’ sense that they needed to exhibit ‘optimum suffering’, which appears to reflect a PhD-specific aspect of a broader academic performativity [ 109 ], is an important area for consideration. An accepted narrative around DRs needing to experience a certain level of dis/stress would likely contribute to poor mental health and as an impediment to the uptake and effectiveness of proffered interventions. Although further research is needed, it is apparent that individual interventions alone are not sufficient to improve DR mental health, and that a widespread culture shift is needed in order to prevent the transmission of unhealthy work attitudes and practices.

Limitations of the literature

Although we found a respectable number of articles in this area, the focus and measures used varied to the extent that typical review analysis procedures could not be used. That is, there was much heterogeneity in terms of how mental health was conceptualised and measured, as well as the range of risk and protective factors explored. Similarly, the quality of the studies was hugely variable. Common flaws amongst the literature include small sample sizes, the use of unvalidated tools and the incomplete reporting of results. Furthermore, for qualitative studies specifically, there appeared to be a focus on breadth instead of depth, particularly in relation to studies using mixed methods.

The generalisability of our findings is limited largely due to the lack of research conducted outside of the US, but also because we limited our review to papers written in English only. The nature of doctoral studies varies in important ways between studies. For example, in Europe, PhD studies usually apply for funding to complete their thesis within 3–4 years and must know their topic of interest at the application stage. Whereas in the US, PhD studies usually take between 5 and 6 years, involve taking classes and completing assignments, and the thesis topic evolves over the course of the PhD. These factors, as well as any differences in the academic culture, are likely to affect the prevalence of mental health problems amongst DRs and the associated risk and protective factors. More research is needed outside of the US.

‘Mental health’ in this review was largely conceptualised as a type of general wellbeing rather than a clinically meaningful construct. None of the studies were ostensibly focused on sampling DRs who were currently experiencing or had previously experienced mental health problems per se, meaning the relevance of the risk, vulnerability and protective factors identified in the meta-synthesis may be more limited in this group. Few studies used clinically meaningful measures. Where clinical measures were used, they captured data on common mental health problems only (i.e. anxiety and depression). Due to these limitations, we are unable to make any assertions about the prevalence of clinical-level mental health problems amongst DRs.

Limitations of this review

As a result of the heterogeneity in this research area, some of the results presented within this review are based on single studies (e.g. correlation data; see Fig. 5 ) rather than the amalgamation of several studies (e.g. meta-analysis/synthesis). To aid clarity when interpreting the results of this review, we have (Table 3 ) summarised the volume of evidence supporting risk and protective factors. Moreover, due to the small number of studies eligible for inclusion in this review, we were unable to test whether any of our findings are related to the study characteristics (e.g. year of publication, country of origin, methodology).

We were able to conduct three meta-analyses, one of which aimed to calculate the between-group effect size on the PSS [ 18 , 19 ] between DRs and normative population data. Comparing these data allowed us to draw some initial conclusions about the prevalence of stress amongst DRs, yet we were unable to control for other group differences which might moderate stress levels. For example, the population data was from people in the United States (US) in 1 year, whereas the DR data was multi-national at a variety of time points; and self-reported stress levels may vary with nationality [ 110 ] or by generation [ 111 , 112 ]. Moreover, two of the three meta-analyses showed significant heterogeneity. This heterogeneity could be explained by differences in the sample characteristics (e.g. demographics, country of origin), doctoral programme characteristics (e.g. area of study, funding status, duration of course) or research characteristics (e.g. study design, questionnaires used). However, due to the small number of studies included in these meta-analyses, we were unable to test any of these hypotheses and are therefore unable to determine the cause of this heterogeneity. As more research is conducted on the mental health of DRs, we will be able to conduct larger and more robust meta-analyses that have sufficient power and variance to statistically explore the causes of this heterogeneity. At present, our findings should be interpreted in light of this limitation.

Practice recommendations

Although further research is clearly needed, we assert that this review has identified sufficient evidence in support of several risk and protective factors to the extent that they could inform prevention and intervention strategies. Several studies have evidenced that isolation is toxic for DRs, and that social support can protect against poor mental health. Initiatives that provide DRs with the opportunity to network and socialise both in and outside of their studies are likely to be beneficial. Moreover, there is support for psychoeducation programmes that introduce DRs to a variety of self-care strategies, allow them to find the strategies that work for them and encourage DRs to make time to regularly enact their chosen strategies. Finally, the supervisory relationship was identified as an important correlate of DR mental health. Positive supervision was characterised as inspirational and inclusive, whereas negative supervision productised DRs or neglected them altogether. Supervisor training programmes should be reviewed in light of these findings to inform how institutions shape supervisory practices. Moreover, the initial findings reported here evidence a culture of normalising and even celebrating suffering in academia. It is imperative therefore that efforts to improve and protect the mental health of DRs are endorsed by the whole institution.

Research recommendations

First, we encourage further large-scale mental health prevalence studies that include a non-PhD comparison group and use validated clinical tools. None of the existing studies focused on the presence of serious mental health problems—this should be a priority for future studies in this area. Mixed-methods explorations of the experiences of DRs who have mental health problems, including serious problems, and in accessing mental health support services would be a welcome addition to the literature. More qualitative studies involving in-depth data collection, for example interview and focus group techniques, would be useful in further supplementing findings from qualitative surveys. Our review highlights a need for better communication and collaboration amongst researchers in this field with the goal of creating a level of consistency across studies to strengthen any future reviews on this subject.

The results from this systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-synthesis suggest that DRs reported greater levels of stress than the general population. Research regarding the risk and protective factors associated with the mental health of DRs is heterogenous and disparate. Based on available evidence, robust risk factors appear to include being isolated and being female, and robust protective factors include social support, viewing the PhD as a process, a positive DR-supervisor relationship and engaging in self-care. Further high-quality, controlled research is needed before any firm statements can be made regarding the prevalence of clinically relevant mental health problems in this population.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Confidence intervals

Doctoral researchers

Higher Education Statistics Agency

Perceived Stress Scale

Standard deviation

United Kingdom

United States

Baron E. Eleven sketches inspired by the university mental health crisis—in pictures. The Guardian. 2017. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/education/gallery/2017/jun/27/eleven-sketches-university-mental-health-crisis . Cited 2017 Oct 6.

Google Scholar  

National Union of Students. 20 per cent of students consider themselves to have a mental health problem: National Union of Students; 2013. Available from: https://www.nus.org.uk/en/news/20-per-cent-of-students-consider-themselves-to-have-a-mental-health-problem/ . Cited 2017 Oct 6.

YouGov. One in four students suffer from mental health problems. 2016. Available from: https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/obtomdatp4/Survey_Results.pdf . Cited 2017 Oct 6.

Universities UK. Minding Our Future: starting a conversation about the support of student mental health. London: Universities UK; 2017. Available from: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/minding-our-future .

The Guardian. Number of university dropouts due to mental health problems trebles. The Guardian. 2017. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/23/number-university-dropouts-due-to-mental-health-problems-trebles . Cited 2017 Oct 6.

Thorley C. Not By Degrees: Improving student mental health in the UK’s universities. London; 2017. Available from: www.ippr.org . Cited 2017 Oct 6.

Oswalt SB, Lederer AM, Chestnut-Steich K, Day C, Halbritter A, Ortiz D. Trends in college students’ mental health diagnoses and utilization of services, 2009–2015. J Am Coll Health. 2018;68:41–51.

Auerbach RP, Mortier P, Bruffaerts R, Alonso J, Benjet C, Cuijpers P, et al. WHO world mental health surveys international college student project: prevalence and distribution of mental disorders. J Abnorm Psychol. 2018;127(7):623–38.

PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

OECD. Education at a Glance 2019. Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators: OECD; 2019. (Education at a Glance). Available from: http://gpseducation.oecd.org/Content/EAGCountryNotes/BRA.pdf . Cited 2020 Mar 26.

OECD. OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016. OECD Science, technology and innovation outlook 2016. 2016. Available from: http://www.oecd.org/sti/STIO 10 key technology trends for the future.pdf. Cited 2020 Mar 26.

Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Higher education student statistics: UK, 2016/17: HESA; 2018. Available from: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/11-01-2018/sfr247-higher-education-student-statistics/numbers .

NCES. Number of doctoral degrees earned in the United States from 1949/50 to 2028/29, by gender. 2019. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/185167/number-of-doctoral-degrees-by-gender-since-1950/ .

Cohen J. A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educ Psychol Meas. 1960;20:37–46 Available from: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=1960-06759-001 .

Landis JR, Koch GG. The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics. 1977;33(1):159 Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2529310?origin=crossref . Cited 2017 Mar 8.

CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Noblit GW, Hare RD. Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies: Sage Publications; 1988. p. 88.

Thomas J, Harden A. Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008;8:45.

Wilson DB. Meta-analysis stuff. 2011. Available from: http://mason.gmu.edu/~dwilsonb/ma.html . Cited 2017 Dec 3.

Cohen S, Williamson GM. Perceived stress in a probability sample of the U.S. In: Spacapam S, Oskamp S, editors. The social psychology of health: Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1988.

Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983;24(4):385–96.

Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D. Who’s Stressed? Distributions of psychological stress in the United States in probability samples from 1983, 2006, and 2009. J Appl Soc Psychol. 2012;42(6):1320–34.

MedCalc Software bvba. MedCalc Statistical Software. Belgium: Ostend; 2016.

Viechtbauer W. Bias and efficiency of Meta-analytic variance estimators in the random-effects model. J Educ Behav Stat. 2005;30(3):261–93 Available from: http://jeb.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.3102/10769986030003261 . Cited 2017 Mar 8.

Hedges LV, Ollkin L. Statistical methods for meta-analysis. New York: Academic Press; 1985. Available from:. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470743386.refs .

Book   Google Scholar  

Borenstein M, Hedges LV, Higgins JPT, Rothstein HR. Introduction to meta-analysis. Chichester: Wiley; 2009. Cited 2019 Jan 10. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470743386 .

Fisher RA. Frequency distribution of the values of the correlation coefficient in samples from an indefinitely large population. Biometrika. 1915;10(4):507–21 Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/185167/number-of-doctoral-degrees-by-gender-since-1950/ .

Schünemann H, Brożek J, Guyatt G, Oxman A. Handbook for grading the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations using the GRADE approach: GRADE Working Group; 2013. Available from: gdt.guidelinedevelopment.org/app/handbook/handbook.html .

Lachal J, Revah-Levy A, Orri M, Moro MR. Metasynthesis: an original method to synthesize qualitative literature in psychiatry. Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:269.

Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 2006;3(2):77–101.

Braun V, Clarke V. Successful qualitative research: a practical guide for beginners. London: Sage Publications Ltd; 2013.

Bhaskar R. The possibility of naturalism: a philosophical critique of the contemporary human sciences. London: Routledge; 2014.

Fletcher AJ. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets method. Int J Soc Res Methodol. 2017;20(2):181–94.

Walsh D, Downe S. Meta-synthesis method for qualitative research: a literature review. J Adv Nurs. 2005;50(2):204–11.

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Maton K. Reflexivity, relationism, &amp; research: Pierre Bourdieu and the epistemic conditions of social scientific knowledge. Sp Cult. 2003;6(1):52–65.

Tong A, Flemming K, McInnes E, Oliver S, Craig J. Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research: ENTREQ. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2012;12(1):181.

von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. The strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement: Guidelines for Reporting Observational Studies. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147(8):573. Cited 2019 Sep 27. Available from. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-8-200710160-00010 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Acker S, Haque E. The struggle to make sense of doctoral study. High Educ Res Dev. 2015;34(2):229–41. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.956699 .

Appel ML, Dahlgren LG. Swedish doctoral students’ experiences on their journey towards a PhD: obstacles and opportunities inside and outside the academic building. Scand J Educ Res. 2003;47(1):89–110. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830308608 .

Devonport TJ, Lane AM. In it together: Dyadic coping among doctoral students and partners. J Hosp Leis Sport Tour Educ. 2014;15:124–34. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2014.08.002 .

Enzor J. Friendship, mental health, and doctoral education: a generic qualitative thematic analysis: Capella University; 2017.

Kurtz-Costes B, Helmke LA, Ülkü-Steiner B. Gender and doctoral studies: the perceptions of Ph.D. students in an American university. Gend Educ. 2006;18(2):137–55.

Bazrafkan L, Shokrpour N, Yousefi A, Yamani N. Management of stress and anxiety among PhD students during thesis writing: a qualitative study. The Health Care Manager. 2016;35:231–40.

Cotterall S. More than just a brain: emotions and the doctoral experience. High Educ Res Dev. 2013;32(2):174–87.

Kaufman JA. Personal perceptions of stress and self-perceived need for social support among doctoral psychology students in a distance education university sample: Capella University; 2004.

Kenty JR. Stress management strategies for women doctoral students. Nurse Educ. 2000;25(5):251–4 Available from: http://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/portal/resource/pt/mdl-16646205 .

Scrubb MM. An examination of the doctoral student stress survey (DSSS) as an instrument for measuring the effects of stress as perceived by doctoral students in a distance learning university: Walden University; 1997.

Usman Yousaf S, Akram M, Usman B. Exploring the causes of stress and coping with it amongst doctoral level students: highlighting the importance of information collection and management. Pakistan J Inf Manag Libr. 2016;18(2):12–25 Available from: https://search.proquest.com/openview/68246cbba8a9da0ec067d56631b479f1/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=54989 .

Sandelowski M, Voils CI, Barroso J. Defining and designing mixed research synthesis Studies. Res Sch. 2006;13(1):29 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20098638%0A http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC2809982 .

Bauer J. Personality factors, self-care, and perceived stress levels on counselor education and counseling psychology doctoral students. Dissertations: Western Michigan University; 2016.

Begun AL, Carter JR. Career Implications of Doctoral Social Work Student Debt Load. J Soc Work Educ. 2017;53(2):161–73. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2016.1243500 .

Benjamin S, Williams J, Maher MA. Focusing the lens to share the story: using photographs and interviews to explore doctoral students’ sense of well-being. Int J Dr Stud. 2017;12:197–217.

Benesek JP. Stress and coping among psychology doctoral students: a comparison of self-reported stress levels and coping styles of PhD and PsyD students: University of Hartford; 1998.

Bireda AD. Challenges to the doctoral journey: a case of female doctoral students from Ethiopia. Open Prax. 2015;7(4):287–97.

Bolliger DU, Halupa C. Student perceptions of satisfaction and anxiety in an online doctoral program. Distance Educ. 2012;33(1):81–98.

Cole LJ. Academic worry and frequent mental distress among online doctoral students: Walden University; 2008.

Devine K, Hunter KH. PhD student emotional exhaustion: the role of supportive supervision and self-presentation behaviours. Innov Educ Teach Int. 2017;54(4):335–44.

Drake KL. Psychology graduate student well-being: the relationship between stress, coping, and health outcomes: University of Cincinnati; 2010.

Dumitrescu GA. Self-efficacy, locus of control , perceived stress and student satisfaction as correlates of dissertation completion: Andrews University; 2016.

El-Ghoroury NH, Galper DI, Sawaqdeh A, Bufka LF. Stress, coping, and barriers to wellness among psychology graduate students. Train Educ Prof Psychol. 2012;6(2):122–34.

Haynes C, Bulosan M, Citty J, Grant-Harris M, Hudson J, Koro-Ljungberg M. My world is not my doctoral program…Or is it?: Female students’ perceptions of well-being. Int J Dr Stud. 2012;7:001–17.

Hill LM. Perceived stress, academic support, social support, and professional support factors as predictors of student success in distributed-learning doctoral education: Fielding Graduate University; 2010.

Holahan CK. Stress experienced by women doctoral students, need for support, and occupational sex typing: An interactional view. Sex Roles. 1979;5(4):425–36.

Hunter KH, Devine K. Doctoral students’ emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave academia. Int J Doctoral Stud. 2016;11.

Kaufman JA. Stress and social support among online doctoral psychology students. J College Stud Psychother. 2006;20(3):79–88 Available from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/57185202?accountid=12253%5Cn http://man-fe.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/openurl/44MAN/44MAN_services_page?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=journal&genre=unknown&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Aeducation&atitle=Stress+and+Social+Support+among +.

Levecque K, Anseel F, De Beuckelaer A, Van Der Heyden J, Gisle L. Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Res Policy. 2017;46:868–79.

Lonka K, Chow A, Keskinen J, Hakkarainen K, Sandström N, Pyhältö K. How to measure PhD students’ conceptions of academic writing - and are they related to wellbeing? J Writ Res. 2014;5(3):245–69.

Lowe RL. The relationship between personality, self-care, stress, and perceived wellness in psychology doctoral students: Tennessee University; 2015.

Marais GAB, Shankland R, Haag P, Fiault R, Juniper B. A survey and a positive psychology intervention on French PhD student well-being. Int J Dr Stud. 2018;13:109–38.

Martinez E, Ordu C, Sala MRD, McFarlane A. Striving to obtain a school-work-life balance: The full-time doctoral student. Int J Dr Stud. 2013;8:39–59.

McGregor BA, Antoni MH, Ceballos R, communication BBBS. very low CD19+ B-lymphocyte percentage is associated with high levels of academic stress among healthy graduate students. Stress Heal. 2008;24(5):413–8.

Nelson K. Academic progress in doctoral students: Levels of hope, subjective well-being, and stress: Walden University; 2014. Available from: http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=psyc12&NEWS=N&AN=2015-99151-189 .

Nottingham K. A predictive analysis of the psychosocial outcomes of doctoral students: Capella University; 2017.

Orozco AB. Self-care effects on anxiety in doctoral students: Fielding Graduate University; 2014. p. 35–61.

Peters BM. The relationships among physiological and perceived stress, quality of life, self-care and impairment in doctoral students: State University of New York at Buffalo; 2007.

Pifer MJ, Baker VL. “It could be just because I’m different”: Otherness and its outcomes in doctoral education. J Divers High Educ. 2014;7(1):14–30.

Platt J, Schaefer C. Clinical psychological students’ subjective stress ratings during their doctoral training. Psychol Rep. 1995;76:994 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7568619 .

Pychyl TA. Personal projects, subjective well-being and the lives of doctoral students. Ottawa: Carleton University; 1995.

Pychyl TA, Little BR. Dimensional specificity in the prediction of subjective well-being: Personal projects in pursuit of the PhD. Soc Indic Res. 1998;45(1–3):423–73 Available from: file://d/d/Texte/Guenter/Literatu/Original/Journals/SIR98-45-423-473.pdf.

Rocha-Singh IA. Perceived stress among graduate students: development and validation of the Graduate Stress Inventory. Educ Psychol Meas. 1994;54(3):714–27.

Scheidler JA. Effects of perceived stress and perceived social support on marital satisfaction in doctoral students: Walden University. 2008;20.

Sekas G, Wile MZ. Stress-related illnesses and sources of stress: comparing M.D., Ph.D., M.D. and Ph.D. students. J Med Educ. 1980;55:440–6 Available from: http://www.embase.com/search/results?subaction=viewrecord&from=export&id=L10000589%5Cn http://sfx.library.uu.nl/utrecht?sid=EMBASE&issn=00222577&id=doi:&atitle=Stress-related+illnesses+and+sources+of+stress%3A+comparing+M.D.-Ph.D.%2C+M.D.+and+Ph.D.+student .

Stubb J, Pyhältö K, Lonka K. Balancing between inspiration and exhaustion: PhD students’ experienced socio-psychological well-being. Stud Contin Educ. 2011;33(1):33–50.

Stubb J, Pyhältö K, Lonka K. The experienced meaning of working with a PhD thesis. Scand J Educ Res. 2012;56(4):439–56.

Ülkü-Steiner B, Kurtz-Costes B, Kinlaw CR. Doctoral student experiences in gender-balanced and male-dominated graduate programs. J Educ Psychol. 2000;92(2):296–307.

Volkert D, Candela L, Bernacki M. Student motivation, stressors, and intent to leave nursing doctoral study: a national study using path analysis. Nurse Educ Today. 2018;61:210–5. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.11.033 .

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Waaijer CJF, Heyer A, Kuli S. Effects of appointment types on the availability of research infrastructure, work pressure, stress, and career attitudes of PhD candidates of a Dutch university. Res Eval. 2016;25(4):349–57.

Wang C-H, Chen Y-W, Wu T-Y. Self-guided bibliotherapy: a case study of a Taiwanese doctoral student. Int J Humanties. 2010;8(1):413–22.

Williams MD. HBCU vs. PWI: institutional integration at PWIs and Black doctoral student depression, anxiety, and stress: University of Minnesota; 2014.

Wright T. Issues in brief counselling with postgraduate research students. Couns Psychol Q. 2006;19(4):357–72.

Scrubb MM. An examination of the Doctoral Student Stress Survey (DSSS) as an instrument for measuring the effects of stress as perceived by doctoral students in a distance learning university, vol. 58: Walden University; 1998. p. 3041. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. Available from: http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=psyc3&NEWS=N&AN=1998-95003-070 .

Hadden BW, Smith CV. I gotta say, today was a good (and meaningful) day: daily meaning in life as a potential basic psychological need. J Happiness Stud. 2017:1–18.

Butler G. Definitions of stress. Occas Pap R Coll Gen Pract. 1993;(61):1–5 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8199583%0A http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC2560943 .

Lazarus RS, Folkman S. Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York: Springer Publishing Company; 1984.

Siegrist J. Chronic psychosocial stress at work and risk of depression: evidence from prospective studies. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008;258(SUPPL. 5):115–9.

Marin MF, Lord C, Andrews J, Juster RP, Sindi S, Arsenault-Lapierre G, et al. Chronic stress, cognitive functioning and mental health. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2011;96(4):583–95. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2011.02.016 .

Ward M. The gender salary gap in British academia. Appl Econ. 2001;33(13):1669–81. Cited 2019 May 23. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840010014445 .

Howe-Walsh L, Turnbull S. Barriers to women leaders in academia: tales from science and technology. Stud High Educ. 2016;41(3):415–28. Cited 2019 May 23. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.929102 .

Gardiner M, Tiggemann M. Gender differences in leadership style, job stress and mental health in male- and female-dominated industries. J Occup Organ Psychol. 1999;72(3):301–15.

Mackenzie CS, Gekoski WL, Knox VJ. Age, gender, and the underutilization of mental health services: the influence of help-seeking attitudes. Aging Ment Health. 2006;10(6):574–82 Cited 2017 May 12. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=camh20 .

Seedat S, Scott KM, Sampson NA, Williams D, Kessler RC. Cross-national associations between gender and mental disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. Arch Gen Pschiatry. 2013;66(7):785–95.

Maslow AH. A theory of human motivation. Psychol Rev. 1943;50(4):370–96 Available from: http://content.apa.org/journals/rev/50/4/370 . Cited 2019 Jun 10.

Leigh-Hunt N, Bagguley D, Bash K, Turner V, Turnbull S, Valtorta N, et al. An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Public Health. 2017;152:157–71 Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.035 .

Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Baker M, Harris T, Stephenson D. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2015;10(2):227–37. Available from. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352 .

Viswesvaran C, Sanchez JI, Fisher J. The role of social support in the process of work stress: a meta-analysis. J Vocat Behav. 1999;54(2):314–34.

Michie S, Williams S. Reducing work related psychological ill health and sickness absence: a systematic literature review. Occup Environ Med. 2003;60(1):3–9.

CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Brook AT, Garcia J, Fleming M. The effects of multiple identities on psychological well-being. Personal Soc Psychol Bull. 2008;34(12):1588–600.

Thoits PA. Self, Identity, Stress, and Mental Health. In: Aneshensel CS, Phelan JC, Bierman A, editors. Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. Dordrecht: Springer; 2012. p. 357–77.

Haslam C, Jetten J, Cruwys T, Dingle G, Haslam A. The new psychology of health: Unlocking the social cure. New York: Routledge; 2018.

Faragher EB, Cass M, Cooper CL. The relationship between job satisfaction and health: a meta-analysis. Occup Environ Med. 2005;62(2):105–12.

Macfarlane B. Student performativity in higher education: converting learning as a private space into a public performance. High Educ Res Dev. 2015;34(2):338–50.

Daniels K. Perceived risk from occupational stress: a survey of 15 European countries. Occup Environ Med. 2004;61(5):467–70.

American Psychiatric Association (APA). Stress in America: missing the health care connection. Washington: American Psychiatric Association (APA). 2013.

Twenge JM. Time period and birth cohort differences in depressive symptoms in the U.S., 1982–2013. Soc Indic Res. 2015;121(2):437–54.

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the Office for Students for their funding to support this work; and thank you to the University of Sussex Doctoral school and our steering group for championing and guiding the ‘Understanding the mental health of Doctoral Researchers (U-DOC)’ project.

The present project was supported by the Office for Students Catalyst Award. The funder had no involvement in the design of the study, the collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, nor the writing of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UW, UK

Cassie M. Hazell

School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK

Laura Chapman

Research and Enterprise, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK

Sophie F. Valeix

Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK

Paul Roberts

School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK

Jeremy E. Niven

Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School and School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9PH, UK

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

CH contributed to the conceptualisation, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, visualisation, writing—original draft preparation and writing—review and editing of this paper. LC contributed to the data curation, investigation, project administration, validation and writing—review and editing of this paper. SV contributed to the data curation, formal analysis, investigation, project administration, validation and writing—review and editing of this paper. PR contributed to the funding acquisition, project administration, supervision and writing—review and editing of this paper. JN contributed to the conceptualisation, funding acquisition, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, writing—original draft preparation and writing—review and editing of this paper. CB contributed to the conceptualisation, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, visualisation, writing—original draft preparation and writing—review and editing of this paper. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clio Berry .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Ethical approval was not needed for the present study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Additional file 1., rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Hazell, C.M., Chapman, L., Valeix, S.F. et al. Understanding the mental health of doctoral researchers: a mixed methods systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. Syst Rev 9 , 197 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01443-1

Download citation

Received : 15 June 2020

Accepted : 31 July 2020

Published : 26 August 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01443-1

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Mental health
• PhD students
• doctoral researchers
• Postgraduate researchers
• Systematic review

Systematic Reviews

ISSN: 2046-4053

• Submission enquiries: Access here and click Contact Us
• General enquiries: [email protected]

‘You have to suffer for your PhD’: poor mental health among doctoral researchers – new research

Lecturer in Social Sciences, University of Westminster

Disclosure statement

Cassie Hazell has received funding from the Office for Students.

University of Westminster provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

View all partners

PhD students are the future of research, innovation and teaching at universities and beyond – but this future is at risk. There are already indications from previous research that there is a mental health crisis brewing among PhD researchers.

My colleagues and I studied the mental health of PhD researchers in the UK and discovered that, compared with working professionals, PhD students were more likely to meet the criteria for clinical levels of depression and anxiety. They were also more likely to have significantly more severe symptoms than the working-professional control group.

We surveyed 3,352 PhD students, as well as 1,256 working professionals who served as a matched comparison group . We used the questionnaires used by NHS mental health services to assess several mental health symptoms.

More than 40% of PhD students met the criteria for moderate to severe depression or anxiety. In contrast, 32% of working professionals met these criteria for depression, and 26% for anxiety.

The groups reported an equally high risk of suicide. Between 33% and 35% of both PhD students and working professionals met the criteria for “suicide risk”. The figures for suicide risk might be so high because of the high rates of depression found in our sample.

We also asked PhD students what they thought about their own and their peers’ mental health. More than 40% of PhD students believed that experiencing a mental health problem during your PhD is the norm. A similar number (41%) told us that most of their PhD colleagues had mental health problems.

Just over a third of PhD students had considered ending their studies altogether for mental health reasons.

There is clearly a high prevalence of mental health problems among PhD students, beyond those rates seen in the general public. Our results indicate a problem with the current system of PhD study – or perhaps with academic more widely. Academia notoriously encourages a culture of overwork and under-appreciation.

This mindset is present among PhD students. In our focus groups and surveys for other research , PhD students reported wearing their suffering as a badge of honour and a marker that they are working hard enough rather than too much. One student told us :

“There is a common belief … you have to suffer for the sake of your PhD, if you aren’t anxious or suffering from impostor syndrome, then you aren’t doing it "properly”.

We explored the potential risk factors that could lead to poor mental health among PhD students and the things that could protect their mental health.

Financial insecurity was one risk factor. Not all researchers receive funding to cover their course and personal expenses, and once their PhD is complete, there is no guarantee of a job. The number of people studying for a PhD is increasing without an equivalent increase in postdoctoral positions .

Another risk factor was conflict in their relationship with their academic supervisor . An analogy offered by one of our PhD student collaborators likened the academic supervisor to a “sword” that you can use to defeat the “PhD monster”. If your weapon is ineffective, then it makes tackling the monster a difficult – if not impossible – task. Supervisor difficulties can take many forms. These can include a supervisor being inaccessible, overly critical or lacking expertise.

A lack of interests or relationships outside PhD study, or the presence of stressors in students’ personal lives were also risk factors.

We have also found an association between poor mental health and high levels of perfectionism, impostor syndrome (feeling like you don’t belong or deserve to be studying for your PhD) and the sense of being isolated .

Better conversations

Doctoral research is not all doom and gloom. There are many students who find studying for a PhD to be both enjoyable and fulfilling , and there are many examples of cooperative and nurturing research environments across academia.

Studying for a PhD is an opportunity for researchers to spend several years learning and exploring a topic they are passionate about. It is a training programme intended to equip students with the skills and expertise to further the world’s knowledge. These examples of good practice provide opportunities for us to learn about what works well and disseminate them more widely.

The wellbeing and mental health of PhD students is a subject that we must continue to talk about and reflect on. However, these conversations need to happen in a way that considers the evidence, offers balance, and avoids perpetuating unhelpful myths.

Indeed, in our own study, we found that the percentage of PhD students who believed their peers had mental health problems and that poor mental health was the norm, exceeded the rates of students who actually met diagnostic criteria for a common mental health problem . That is, PhD students may be overestimating the already high number of their peers who experienced mental health problems.

We therefore need to be careful about the messages we put out on this topic, as we may inadvertently make the situation worse. If messages are too negative, we may add to the myth that all PhD students experience mental health problems and help maintain the toxicity of academic culture.

• Mental health
• Academic life
• PhD research

Service Delivery Consultant

Newsletter and Deputy Social Media Producer

College Director and Principal | Curtin College

Head of School: Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences

Educational Designer

Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

Mental Health PhD Program

A multidisciplinary PhD Program in Mental Health

This Program brings together graduate researchers addressing mental health from diverse disciplinary perspectives - psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology and community mental health, history and philosophy of psychiatry, general practice, paediatrics, psychiatric nursing and social work, among others. Launched in March 2018, the Program is a joint initiative of the University of Melbourne's School of Psychological Sciences, Centre for Mental Health and the Department of Psychiatry. These were joined in 2020 by the Centre for Youth Mental Health and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health.

Our goal is to provide all University of Melbourne PhD students researching mental health with a platform to connect, share and discover new disciplines so that they can become fully-rounded researchers who can approach the field of mental health from a multi-disciplinary perspective.

Host departments

The  Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences is one of the most highly regarded schools of psychology in Australia. The School attracts some of the best students nationally and internationally to its broad range of APAC-accredited undergraduate, graduate, professional and research programs. The School's teaching is underpinned by excellence in research across a range of fields, including cognitive and behavioural neuroscience, quantitative psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology and clinical science.

The  Centre for Mental Health is part of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and aims to improve mental health and mitigate the impact of mental illness at a population level. It does this through high-quality, collaborative, interdisciplinary research, academic teaching, professional and community education, and mental health system development. The Centre contributes to evidence-informed mental health policy and practice in Australia and internationally through the work of its three units:

• Global and Cultural Mental Health
• Mental Health Policy and Practice
• Population Mental Health.

The Centre's three units are involved in active and productive collaborations within the University and beyond. These relationships range from not-for-profit agencies like Mind Australia through to international NGOs such as the World Health Organization, and enables the translation of their research into policy and practice.

The   Department of Psychiatry is committed to the prevention of mental illness and improved quality of life for individuals affected by mental illness, both nationally and internationally. The Department has unique strengths around biological and translational psychiatry research which are internationally recognised. Together with clinical collaborations and involvement in mental health policy and practice, this provides a stimulating environment for learning and research training programs. Their research is driven by pure and applied questions that require cross-disciplinary approaches and partnerships with diverse community organisations - especially those effected with mental illness. The research informs our teaching and clinical training and engagement with the wider community.

The Centre for Youth Mental Health brings together the experience and expertise of world leaders in the field of youth mental health and has become an internationally renowned research centre in this field. The Centre focuses on understanding the biological, psychological and social factors that influence onset, remission and relapse of mental illnesses in young people. Its research findings are actively translated into improved policy, practice and training that inform the development of better interventions, treatments and service systems for young people at different stages of mental ill-health. The multidisciplinary nature of its research provides a diverse and stimulating environment for students. The local and international collaborations with other universities and research institutes link it with a broader research community, with unique global perspectives and the opportunity for an exciting exchange of ideas.

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health (The Florey) is the largest brain research group in the southern hemisphere and one of the world’s top brain research centres. It is an independent medical research institute with strong connections to other research groups, globally. Our scientists are found at three research facilities, one on the grounds of the University of Melbourne in Parkville, one in the adjacent Royal Melbourne Hospital and the other at Austin Health in Heidelberg.

Program activities

Mental health is a multidisciplinary, complex and rapidly growing research domain. Your years as a graduate researcher at the University of Melbourne are the perfect time for you to broaden your skill set, build your network and expand your understanding of this dynamic field. At the moment we have over 70 graduate researchers in our community who come from over a dozen different Centres and Schools within the University and we would love for you to join us!

Our online platform

In order for you to get to know others and learn from the MHPP community's wide variety of disciplines and expertise, we have an online platform with different channels offering a host of opportunities:

• PhD Progress and Professional Development Channel: Ask any questions  you might have about all aspects of your PhD, get peer support and develop your research skills by making the most of professional development opportunities such as online workshops and skills training.
• MHPP Events Channel: Find information here about the events organised by the Program , including social get-togethers, webinars and workshops.
• Members and Alumni Channel: Connect with your fellow PhD students across the many different institutes and schools represented in the Program, learn from alumni and build your research network.
• Items of Interest Channel: Be kept up to date about University of Melbourne events related to mental health and get invited to attend colloquium talks  by local and visiting experts across the different academic host units, offering unparalleled access to cutting-edge research in mental health.

And more…

In addition, you can also use the MHPP as a unique opportunity to expand your CV by working on your transferable skills and help run an event or become a Mental Health PhD Program Event Coordinator ( not mandatory ).

Program structure

Mhpp co-directors team.

“This PhD Program provides currently enrolled University of Melbourne PhD students working within the domain of mental health with the opportunity to become accomplished graduate researchers who are not only prepared to engage with their own discipline, but are equipped with the capacity to place their work in a broader multidisciplinary context within mental health.”

Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

“A PhD position is a big commitment and this program creates a platform to support a true cohort experience and provide a network of support, aimed to help PhD candidates working within the mental health domain through their doctorate and beyond.”

Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Medical School

“Undertaking a PhD can be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life, yet sometimes, as one buries deeper into their topic, there is risk of feeling quite isolated and disconnected. The Mental Health PhD Program provides a wonderful opportunity to share the journey, connect with others with similar interests, and gain exposure to the broader mental health research landscape.”

Centre for Youth Mental Health

“The Mental Health PhD Program is a vibrant community of post-graduate students who share a common passion and interest in creating new knowledge in the field of mental health, but who come at this through different disciplines, lenses and research methodologies. This program provides a wonderful and unique opportunity for exposure to different ways of thinking about similar problems in a supportive, collaborative and engaging way.”

Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health

“To transform our understandings into mental health and metal ill-health, we really need multifaceted complimentary approaches that span preclinical tools to clinical approaches and services. This PhD Program provides a unique opportunity for students to be exposed to this breadth of multidisciplinary research that is available within Parkville and the University of Melbourne, and to share their PhD journey with a diverse cohort that will get them thinking about all the levels at which we need to tackle research in the mental health field.”

MHPP Operations Manager

The Mental Health PhD Program now has a wonderful Operations Manager: Brendan Pearl (Department of Psychiatry). Brendan is involved in the organisation, coordination and promotion of many of our great events.

MHPP Event Coordinators

The Mental Health PhD Program has a new online platform with a team of Event Coordinators. This is a team of current MHPP PhD students who help organise events and provide a true cohort experience.  The invaluable contributions of these wonderful MHPP members is what makes the Program truly great!

It is also a great way for members to work on their transferable skills, expand their CVs and create a vast multidisciplinary network with the University of Melbourne. If you would like to join the MHPP and are perhaps interested in taking on the role of Event Coordinator for some time during your PhD journey then please visit the application tab here . We would love to hear from you!

Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health

Centre for Mental Health

Department of General Practice

Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry

Department of Psychiatry

Please find below testimonials from some of our current graduate researchers about their experience of the Mental Health PhD Program.

If you are a mental health graduate researcher, this program is a fundamental building block to understanding how dynamic, complex, inspirational, positive and exciting the field of mental health can be.

Tam Dennis - Graduate Researcher at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

I am very fortunate to be a part of this amazing community and highly recommend it for any PhD student in the area of mental health!

Kavisha Fernando - Graduate Researcher at the Department of Psychiatry

The Mental Health PhD Program (MHPP) is a wonderful program which promotes learning and professional development during your PhD journey.

Carra Simpson - Graduate Researcher at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

What I like about the MHPP is that it provides a platform which is graduate-researcher driven and truly multidisciplinary; it provides opportunities for developing skills which we identify as useful and are above and beyond the scope of our individual departments.

Brendan Pearl - Graduate Researcher at the Department of Psychiatry

I recommend all students with a project related to mental health join the program, get involved and reap the benefits!

Hannah Savage -Graduate Researcher at the Department of Psychiatry

I highly recommend this program to any PhD students in the field of mental health research.

Phoebe Thomson - Graduate Researcher at the Department of Paediatrics

The Mental Health PhD Program creates an inspiring and supportive community of researchers who are united by a common passion for improving mental health and well-being.

Annai Charlton - Graduate Researcher at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

The Mental Health PhD Program provides me with lots of different opportunities; networking, career development and the opportunity to ask experts from interdisciplinary fields for advice.

"The MHPP has helped me develop skills that I otherwise wouldn’t have developed, such as being able to communicate about research to people who work in related fields but use very different research techniques (animal work or qualitative research). It’s also a very social program, and I’ve met a lot of other very friendly PhD students. Being an off-campus PhD student, I sometimes felt a bit disconnected from the university, but this program has helped alleviate this feeling. The new online Teams platform is great, I get to check it whenever I want and there are optional events to join. I’ve found lots of them very useful and I ended spending about 1.5 hours a fortnight engaged with the program (5 minutes a day reading updates and chatting to other students and 1 hour attending an event such as an expert discussion, watching an interview or a coffee moment). I’m hoping to meet you soon and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!"

Yara Toenders - Graduate Researcher at the Centre for Youth Mental Health

Being a part of the MHPP community has been one of the best parts of my PhD.

Anna Ross, Graduate Researcher at the Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

How to apply?

The Mental Health PhD Program is offered by the University's School of Psychological Sciences, the Centre for Mental Health, the Department of Psychiatry, the Centre for Youth Mental Health and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health.

Graduate researchers at any stage of their PhD candidature and in any Department, Centre or School at the University of Melbourne are eligible to participate.

The Mental Health PhD Program is intended to be a supplement to the training graduate researchers receive in their home department. Program participants will remain enrolled in their current faculties and departments.

Eligibility

To be eligible, graduate researchers must be currently enrolled in a PhD, have their primary supervisor based at the University of Melbourne and be undertaking doctoral research on a topic related to mental health.

Prospective graduate researchers

If you are not currently enrolled, you will need to apply separately for entry to a PhD in a relevant field. This will generally involve finding an appropriate supervisor in a suitable academic Department, School or Faculty. Once you have commenced your mental health-related PhD course, you can then register to join the Mental Health PhD Program.

Check that you meet the University's eligibility and entry requirements to undertake a PhD, and find instructions on how to apply on MDHS' Graduate Research pages . You can also read more general information about the MDHS PhD course .

Applications

The application procedure is currently closed. Due to unforeseen technical issues, the opening for 2021 applications has unfortunately been delayed until February 8, 2020. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Applications to join the Program can be submitted throughout the year and graduate researchers can join the Program at any time during their candidature.

If you meet the eligibility criteria and you are interested in meeting your peers from throughout the University of Melbourne and creating a more multidisciplinary understanding of mental health research then please apply below. We look forward to welcoming you to our community!

Apply for the Program

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us .

Frequently Asked Questions

What will i get out of the program.

It has never been more important for PhD students to be strategic about career moves, build broad networks and master the right skills to get into their career of choice. The Mental Health PhD Program offers you a platform to:

• Increase your understanding of the multidisciplinary field of mental health
• Save you time finding support and learning about events and resources at the University of Melbourne
• Engage in professional development opportunities specific to the domain of mental health
• Expand your CV
• Present your work, to practice your conference talks or poster presentations
• Get access to extra professional development opportunities workshops, lectures and events that are organised within the University of Melbourne PhD Program Network and only advertised to PhD students who are enrolled in one of the University of Melbourne PhD Programs
• Socialise, share, reflect and learn with and from your peers.

What will the time investment be?

We understand that as a PhD student you have a busy schedule and often competing demands, so we have created an online platform that you can access when and where you like. As a member of the MHPP, we kindly ask you to meet the following time commitment of around three hours per month:

• A weekly active contribution to the online platform. This can be done by posting a question, sharing a tip with your peers, replying to a question posted by another member, liking a post, etc (5-10 minutes per week).
• Join our bi-weekly online events. We really encourage you to attend these live online events so you can ask any questions or join the discussion and share your expertise. That way we really can learn with and from each other. However, we understand you might not always be able to make it so we record most of our events so you can access them at a later point (one hour fortnightly).
• Read any emails you get from the MHPP carefully and reply promptly when needed.

Do I need formal approval from my supervisor to be part of the Mental Health PhD Program?

As of 2020, the Mental Health PhD Program has a new model and formal proof of approval from your Primary Supervisor is no longer required. However, we strongly encourage you to discuss your enrolment into this specific program, as well as your professional development in general, with your supervisor before signing up.

Does the Mental Health PhD Program offer PhD positions?

This multidisciplinary PhD Program is an academic and professional development initiative for currently-enrolled PhD students who are researching a topic within Mental Health. Therefore, this program does not directly enrol students.

Eligible students will need to apply separately for entry to a PhD in a relevant field. This will typically involve finding an appropriate supervisor in a suitable academic Department, School or Faculty. Once students have commenced their mental health-related PhD course, they can register to join the Mental Health PhD Program, which is intended to be a supplement to the training that students receive in their home department.

How can I unsubscribe?

If you need to terminate your enrolment you can do so by unsubscribing from the Mental Health PhD Program Newsletter.

Where can I go for further information?

Please email Anna Schroeder at [email protected] with any questions or feedback. I’d love to hear from you.

This interdisciplinary PhD Program provides participants with the opportunity to become accomplished graduate researchers who are not only prepared to engage with their own discipline, but are also equipped with the capacity to place their work in a broader multidisciplinary context within mental health, maximising their graduate career outcomes.

If you have any questions about the Program or our events, please contact the Program Coordinator Anna Schroeder at [email protected] .

Program Co-Directors

Professor Nick Haslam Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences

Professor Jane Pirkis Centre for Mental Health

Professor Chris Davey Department of Psychiatry

Associate Professor Kelly Allot Centre for Youth Mental Health

Professor Andrew Lawrence Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health

Operations Manager

Brendan Pearl Department of Psychiatry

Browser does not support script.

Go to…

• Our schools
• Work for us
• Inaugural lectures
• Study with us
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate taught
• Postgraduate research
• Professional training
• Centres & groups
• Research Projects
• Getting involved
• NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
• Research and Development office
• Our connections
• International
• Diversity & inclusion
• Code of conduct
• Inclusive Toolkits

King's PhD Programme in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals

October 2023

Our PhD programme is available to health professionals (including but not limited to doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, allied healthcare practitioners) across a diverse range of topics relevant to mental health science. We seek to diversify the mental health research workforce and actively welcome applicants from three under-represented groups: people with lived experience of mental disorders, diverse racial and ethnic groups, and nurses.

Please read the  How to Apply  section of our website carefully for details on the programme structure, application process and full eligibility criteria. You will also be able to access the online application form  on this site, along with guidance to help you complete the application. Please note that the applications close at  13:00 (GMT) on 1 December 2022 .

Supervisors

See: Leadership & Supervision

Entry requirements & How to Apply

See:  Funding, Eligibility & How to Apply

Further information

See:  King’s PhD Programme in Mental Health Research for Health Professionals

Funded by Wellcome and King’s College London

We have recently recorded two recruitment webinars with the Programme Director and Co-Directors to talk about the programme in more detail that are now available on our website . We also have a list of FAQs answering most common questions that you may find helpful. You can get in touch with us by email at [email protected] in case you have any further questions.

Closing date

Thursday 1st December 2022

w/c 8 May 2023

Study at King’s

View a prospectus.

Learn more about the degree programmes on offer at King's. Download or view a prospectus in PDF format.

• Undergraduate prospectus
• Postgraduate guide

Sign up for further information

Receive email updates about our courses, events, fees and funding, studying in London, how to apply and more.

Upcoming events

Accommodation at King's

20 August 2024, 17:00

Discover more about the accommodation options…

Undergraduate fees & funding

22 August 2024, 09:00

Learn more about undergraduate fees and funding…

• How It Works
• PhD thesis writing
• Master thesis writing
• Bachelor thesis writing
• Dissertation writing service
• Dissertation abstract writing
• Thesis proposal writing
• Thesis editing service
• Thesis proofreading service
• Thesis formatting service
• Coursework writing service
• Research paper writing service
• Architecture thesis writing
• Computer science thesis writing
• Engineering thesis writing
• History thesis writing
• MBA thesis writing
• Nursing dissertation writing
• Psychology dissertation writing
• Sociology thesis writing
• Statistics dissertation writing
• Buy dissertation online
• Write my dissertation
• Cheap thesis
• Cheap dissertation
• Custom dissertation
• Dissertation help
• Pay for thesis
• Pay for dissertation
• Senior thesis
• Write my thesis

207 Mental Health Research Topics For Top Students

College and university students pursuing psychology studies must write research papers on mental health in their studies. It is not always an exciting moment for the students since getting quality mental health topics is tedious. However, this article presents expert ideas and writing tips for students in this field. Enjoy!

What Is Mental Health?

It is an integral component of health that deals with the feeling of well-being when one realizes his or her abilities, cope with the pressures of life, and productively work. Mental health also incorporates how humans interact with each other, emote, or think. It is a vital concern of any human life that cannot be neglected.

How To Write Mental Health Research Topics

One should approach the subject of mental health with utmost preciseness. If handled carelessly, cases such as depression, suicide or low self-esteem may occur. That is why students are advised to carefully choose mental health research paper topics for their paper with the mind reader.

To get mental health topics for research paper, you can use the following sources:

• The WHO website
• Websites of renowned psychology clinics
• News reports and headlines.

However, we have a list of writing ideas that you can use for your inspiration. Check them out!

Top Mental Disorders Research Topics

• Is the psychological treatment of mental disorders working for all?
• How do substance-use disorders impede the healing process?
• Discuss the effectiveness of the mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP)
• Are non-specialists in mental health able to manage severe mental disorders?
• The role of the WHO in curbing and treating mental disorders globally
• The contribution of coronavirus pandemic to mental disorders
• How does television contribute to mental disorders among teens?
• Does religion play a part in propagating mental disorders?
• How does peer pressure contribute to mental disorders among teens?
• The role of the guidance and counselling departments in helping victims of mental disorders
• How to develop integrated and responsive mental health to such disorders
• Discuss various strategies for promotion and prevention in mental health
• The role of information systems in mental disorders

Mental Illness Research Questions

• The role of antidepressant medicines in treating mental illnesses
• How taxation of alcoholic beverages and their restriction can help in curbing mental illnesses
• The impact of mental illnesses on the economic development of a country
• Efficient and cost-effective ways of treating mental illnesses
• Early childhood interventions to prevent future mental illnesses
• Why children from single-parent families are prone to mental illnesses
• Do opportunities for early learning have a role in curbing mental diseases?
• Life skills programmes that everyone should embrace to fight mental illnesses
• The role of nutrition and diet in causing mental illness
• How socio-economic empowerment of women can help promote mental health
• Practical social support for elderly populations to prevent mental illnesses
• How to help vulnerable groups against mental illnesses
• Evaluate the effectiveness of mental health promotional activities in schools

Hot Mental Health Topics For Research

• Do stress prevention programmes on TV work?
• The role of anti-discrimination laws and campaigns in promoting mental health
• Discuss specific psychological and personality factors leading to mental disorders
• How can biological factors lead to mental problems?
• How stressful work conditions can stir up mental health disorders
• Is physical ill-health a pivotal contributor to mental disorders today?
• Why sexual violence has led many to depression and suicide
• The role of life experiences in mental illnesses: A case of trauma
• How family history can lead to mental health problems
• Can people with mental health problems recover entirely?
• Why sleeping too much or minor can be an indicator of mental disorders.
• Why do people with mental health problems pull away from others?
• Discuss confusion as a sign of mental disorders

Research Topics For Mental Health Counseling

• Counselling strategies that help victims cope with the stresses of life
• Is getting professional counselling help becoming too expensive?
• Mental health counselling for bipolar disorders
• How psychological counselling affects victims of mental health disorders
• What issues are students free to share with their guiding and counselling masters?
• Why are relationship issues the most prevalent among teenagers?
• Does counselling help in the case of obsessive-compulsive disorders?
• Is counselling a cure to mental health problems?
• Why talking therapies are the most effective in dealing with mental disorders
• How does talking about your experiences help in dealing with the problem?
• Why most victims approach their counsellors feeling apprehensive and nervous
• How to make a patient feel comfortable during a counselling session
• Why counsellors should not push patients to talk about stuff they aren’t ready to share

Mental Health Law Research Topics

• Discuss the effectiveness of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Does the Capacity to Consent to Treatment law push patients to the wall?
• Evaluate the effectiveness of mental health courts
• Does forcible medication lead to severe mental health problems?
• Discuss the institutionalization of mental health facilities
• Analyze the Consent to Clinical Research using mentally ill patients
• What rights do mentally sick patients have? Are they effective?
• Critically analyze proxy decision making for mental disorders
• Why some Psychiatric Advance directives are punitive
• Discuss the therapeutic jurisprudence of mental disorders
• How effective is legal guardianship in the case of mental disorders?
• Discuss psychology laws & licensing boards in the United States
• Evaluate state insanity defence laws

Controversial Research Paper Topics About Mental Health

• Do mentally ill patients have a right to choose whether to go to psychiatric centres or not?
• Should families take the elderly to mental health institutions?
• Does the doctor have the right to end the life of a terminally ill mental patient?
• The use of euthanasia among extreme cases of mental health
• Are mental disorders a result of curses and witchcraft?
• Do violent video games make children aggressive and uncontrollable?
• Should mental institutions be located outside the cities?
• How often should families visit their relatives who are mentally ill?
• Why the government should fully support the mentally ill
• Should mental health clinics use pictures of patients without their consent?
• Should families pay for the care of mentally ill relatives?
• Do mentally ill patients have the right to marry or get married?
• Who determines when to send a patient to a mental health facility?

Mental Health Topics For Discussion

• The role of drama and music in treating mental health problems
• Explore new ways of coping with mental health problems in the 21 st century
• How social media is contributing to various mental health problems
• Does Yoga and meditation help to treat mental health complications?
• Is the mental health curriculum for psychology students inclusive enough?
• Why solving problems as a family can help alleviate mental health disorders
• Why teachers can either maintain or disrupt the mental state of their students
• Should patients with mental health issues learn to live with their problems?
• Why socializing is difficult for patients with mental disorders
• Are our online psychology clinics effective in handling mental health issues?
• Discuss why people aged 18-25 are more prone to mental health problems
• Analyze the growing trend of social stigma in the United States
• Are all people with mental health disorders violent and dangerous?

Mental Health Of New Mothers Research Topics

• The role of mental disorders in mother-infant bonding
• How mental health issues could lead to delays in the emotional development of the infant
• The impact of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on postpartum women
• Why anxiety and depression are associated with preterm delivery
• The role of husbands in attending to wives’ postpartum care needs
• What is the effectiveness of screening for postpartum depression?
• The role of resilience in dealing with mental issues after delivery
• Why marginalized women are more prone to postpartum depression
• Why failure to bond leads to mental disorders among new mothers
• Discuss how low and middle-income countries contribute to perinatal depression
• How to prevent the recurrence of postpartum mental disorders in future
• The role of anti-depression drugs in dealing with depression among new mothers
• A case study of the various healthcare interventions for perinatal anxiety and mood disorders

What Are The Hot Topics For Mental Health Research Today

• Discuss why mental health problems may be a result of a character flaw
• The impact of damaging stereotypes in mental health
• Why are many people reluctant to speak about their mental health issues?
• Why the society tends to judge people with mental issues
• Does alcohol and wasting health help one deal with a mental problem?
• Discuss the role of bullying in causing mental health disorders among students
• Why open forums in school and communities can help in curbing mental disorders
• How to build healthy relationships that can help in solving mental health issues
• Discuss frustration and lack of understanding in relationships
• The role of a stable and supportive family in preventing mental disorders
• How parents can start mental health conversations with their children
• Analyze the responsibilities of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
• The role of a positive mind in dealing with psychological problems

Good Research Topics On Refugees Mental Health

• Why do refugees find themselves under high levels of stress?
• Discuss the modalities of looking after the mental health of refugees
• Evaluate the importance of a cultural framework in helping refugees with mental illnesses
• How refugee camp administrators can help identify mental health disorders among refugees
• Discuss the implications of dangerous traditional practices
• The role of the UNHCR in assisting refugees with mental problems
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder among refugees
• Dealing with hopelessness among refugees
• The prevalence of traumatic experiences in refugee camps
• Does cognitive-behavioural therapy work for refugees?
• Discuss the role of policy planning in dealing with refugee-mental health problems
• Are psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine effective in refugee camps?
• Practical groups and in‐group therapeutic settings for refugee camps

Adolescent Mental Health Research Topics

• Discuss why suicide is among the leading causes of death among adolescents
• The role of acting-out behaviour or substance use in mental issues among adolescents
• Mental effects of unsafe sexual behaviour among adolescents
• Psychopharmacologic agents and menstrual dysfunction in adolescents
• The role of confidentiality in preventive care visits
• Mental health disorders and impairment among adolescents
• Why adolescents not in school risk developing mental disorders
• Does a clinical model work for adolescents with mental illnesses?
• The role of self-worth and esteem in dealing with adolescent mental disorders
• How to develop positive relationships with peers
• Technology and mental ill-health among adolescents
• How to deal with stigma among adolescents
• Curriculum that supports young people to stay engaged and motivated

Research Topics For Mental Health And Government

• Evaluate mental health leadership and governance in the United States
• Advocacy and partnerships in dealing with mental health
• Discuss mental health and socio-cultural perspective
• Management and coordination of mental health policy frameworks
• Roles and responsibilities of governments in dealing with mental health
• Monitoring and evaluation of mental health policies
• What is the essence of a mental health commission?
• Benefits of mental well-being to the prosperity of a country
• Necessary reforms to the mental health systems
• Legal frameworks for dealing with substance use disorders
• How mental health can impede the development of a country
• The role of the government in dealing with decaying mental health institutions
• Inadequate legislation in dealing with mental health problems

Abnormal Psychology Topics

• What does it mean to display strange behaviour?
• Role of mental health professionals in dealing with abnormal psychology
• Discuss the concept of dysfunction in mental illness
• How does deviance relate to mental illness?
• Role of culture and social norms
• The cost of treating abnormal psychology in the US
• Using aversive treatment in abnormal psychology
• Importance of psychological debriefing
• Is addiction a mental disease?
• Use of memory-dampening drugs
• Coercive interrogations and psychology

Behavioural Health Issues In Mental Health

• Detachment from reality
• Inability to withstand daily problems
• Conduct disorder among children
• Role of therapy in behavioural disorders
• Eating and drinking habits and mental health
• Addictive behaviour patterns for teenagers in high school
• Discuss mental implications of gambling and sex addiction
• Impact of maladaptive behaviours on the society
• Extreme mood changes
• Confused thinking
• Role of friends in behavioural complications
• Spiritual leaders in helping deal with behavioural issues
• Suicidal thoughts

Latest Psychology Research Topics

• Discrimination and prejudice in a society
• Impact of negative social cognition
• Role of personal perceptions
• How attitudes affect mental well-being
• Effects of cults on cognitive behaviour
• Marketing and psychology
• How romance can distort normal cognitive functioning
• Why people with pro-social behaviour may be less affected
• Leadership and mental health
• Discuss how to deal with anti-social personality disorders
• Coping with phobias in school
• The role of group therapy
• Impact of dreams on one’s psychological behaviour

Professional Psychiatry Research Topics

• The part of false memories
• Media and stress disorders
• Impact of gender roles
• Role of parenting styles
• Age and psychology
• The biography of Harry Harlow
• Career paths in psychology
• Dissociative disorders
• Dealing with paranoia
• Delusions and their remedy
• A distorted perception of reality
• Rights of mental caregivers
• Dealing with a loss
• Handling a break-up

Consider using our expert research paper writing services for your mental health paper today. Satisfaction is guaranteed!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment * Error message

Name * Error message

Email * Error message

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

As Putin continues killing civilians, bombing kindergartens, and threatening WWIII, Ukraine fights for the world's peaceful future.

Ukraine Live Updates

Thinking Philosophically Can Benefit Mental Health

Reflecting on the deeper side of life bolsters mental health..

Updated August 6, 2024 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• Philosophy and mental health intersect through practical wisdom and reflection.
• Wisdom aids emotional regulation, empathy, and resilience in life's challenges.
• Counseling applies philosophical concepts like Stoicism for stress management.

The Intersection of Philosophy and Mental Health

At first glance, philosophy and mental health might seem like unrelated fields. Philosophy often examines abstract, theoretical, and logical questions, constructing arguments that seem detached from the day-to-day concerns of most people, while the field of mental health and counseling deals with subjectivity, the nitty-gritty of everyday life. In particular, counseling is concerned with the implementation of evidence-based treatments that have been customized to the actual needs of an individual. In that way, counseling is intensely pragmatic and practical. Yet, the relationship between these two fields is more intertwined than one might initially think. What I'm proposing is that philosophy can actually benefit your mental health and promoting well-being.

From my perspective as a counselor, many of the insights that foster mental well-being in clients are akin to pieces of wisdom . The term "philosophy" itself originates from the Greek words for "love of wisdom." Wisdom serves as a bridge between philosophical reflection and mental health, providing practical guidance that can be transformative.

The Role of Wisdom in Mental Health

Wisdom is not merely an abstract concept but a practical, experience-based understanding of life. It involves a deep comprehension of life's complexities, an ability to manage and regulate emotions, and a capacity for empathy and perspective-taking . Recent research suggests that wisdom is closely linked to mental health, as it helps individuals navigate life's challenges more effectively (Jeste & Lee, 2019).

Jeste and Lee (2019) go on to argue that philosophical wisdom—derived from practical, lived experiences—can play a crucial role in enhancing mental health. This wisdom, which involves understanding life's complexities, managing emotions, and empathizing with others, helps individuals navigate challenges and find meaning. They highlight the use of philosophical ideas in therapeutic practices, such as existential and Stoic philosophy, to aid clients in understanding and addressing their mental health concerns. Reflective practices and narrative therapy are also discussed as methods that incorporate philosophical concepts to promote personal growth and emotional well-being.

This is my personal perspective, but I see counseling as a very practical form of philosophy. One branch of philosophy is concerned with “the good life.” Well, so is counseling, but with an extra serving of subjectivity. Counseling is concerned with “what is the good life” for this person, in their culture, in their context and situation, with their life goals in mind.

According to Jeste and Lee (2019), wisdom is defined as a complex human trait characterized by a deep understanding of life, including knowledge of what is important, emotional regulation , empathy, compassion, reflection, decisiveness, and tolerance for divergent values. This definition emphasizes that wisdom involves both cognitive and emotional elements, making it a holistic quality that enables individuals to deal with life's challenges effectively. Wisdom also encompasses practical application, allowing for better decision-making and enhanced well-being.

Sense-Making

A practical, real-world form of philosophy emerges from the experiences of life, particularly from suffering and adversity. This type of philosophy isn't about detached contemplation but about deriving meaningful insights through lived experiences. It aligns with the concept of "grounded theory" in psychology, which posits that knowledge and understanding arise from the reality of individuals' lived experiences (Charmaz, 2014).

Much of what counseling does, when working with someone who has experienced trauma and suffering, is helping them make sense of their experience. Sense-making is a crucial process for individuals recovering from hardships, as it involves reflecting on and interpreting challenging experiences to integrate them into one's personal narrative. This process helps create a coherent story that connects past events with current identity , fostering a greater sense of purpose and self-awareness. Positive reframing, such as focusing on gratitude , allows individuals to acknowledge the growth and resilience gained from their struggles, rather than merely dwelling on the difficulties. This approach enhances resilience, providing coping mechanisms like positive self-talk , social support, and self-care, which better equip individuals to handle future challenges. Ultimately, sense-making transforms adversity into opportunities for growth and improved well-being ​​.

Practical Philosophy and Counseling

In counseling, philosophical ideas often manifest as guiding principles or frameworks that help clients make sense of their experiences. For instance, existential philosophy, with its focus on meaning, choice, and responsibility, can offer valuable perspectives in therapy. Clients grappling with existential concerns—such as the search for meaning or the fear of mortality—can find solace and clarity in existentialist thought (Yalom, 1980).

Similarly, Stoic philosophy, with its emphasis on resilience and control, provides practical tools for managing emotions and stress . The Stoic idea of focusing on what is within one's control and accepting what is not can be particularly empowering for individuals facing anxiety and uncertainty. This approach aligns with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques that encourage cognitive restructuring to manage negative thoughts (Ellis, 2004).

Reflecting on Experience

The process of reflecting on one's experiences, a key aspect of practical philosophy, is crucial for mental health. Reflective practices enable individuals to gain insight into their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, facilitating personal growth and emotional regulation. This reflective capacity is linked to mindfulness practices, which have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression (Kabat-Zinn, 2003).

Furthermore, narrative therapy, which involves exploring and re-authoring personal stories, draws on philosophical ideas about identity and meaning. By examining the narratives they live by, clients can reshape their understanding of themselves and their circumstances, leading to positive changes in their mental health (White & Epston, 1990).

In summary, philosophy and mental health are deeply interconnected. The practical wisdom derived from philosophical reflection offers valuable insights and tools for navigating life's challenges. By integrating philosophical concepts into counseling, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their experiences, fostering greater mental well-being. As research continues to explore the intersections of these fields, the benefits of philosophy for mental health are becoming increasingly evident.

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory . SAGE Publications.

Ellis, A. (2004). Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: It Works for Me—It Can Work for You . Prometheus Books.

Jeste, D. V., & Lee, E. E. (2019). The emerging empirical science of wisdom: Definition, measurement, neurobiology, longevity, and interventions. Harvard Review of Psychiatry , 27 (3), 127–140.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Context: Past, Present, and Future . Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156.

White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends . Norton & Company.

Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy . Basic Books.

Dan Bates, Ph.D., is a clinical mental health counselor licensed in the state of Washington and certified nationally.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• International
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

Centre for Global Mental Health

Research degrees (phd).

The Centre for Global Mental Health specialises in providing high quality PhD training opportunities in topics related to Global Mental Health, and offers students a broad range of possible PhD supervisors to gain the skills they will need for a career in mental health research. The research projects are mainly based in low and middle income countries, with supervision provided locally as well as by academics based in the UK.

Students register at either the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, or the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), depending on which institution their lead supervisor is based.  Joint supervision across institutions is possible, although students will be registered at only 1 institution (the institution of their lead supervisor), and will receive their degree from this institution.

Research Areas

Staff in the CGMH work on the following themes

• Dementia and disorders of old age
• Depression and Anxiety 
• HIV and Depression
• Adolescent mental health

Application steps

1. Clarify your research topic

2. Identify a prospective supervisor

3. Identify how your research degree will be funded

4. Draft your research proposal outline

5. Check that you meet, or are expecting to meet the institutions general entry requirements

6. Check the application deadlines associated with your chosen programme

7. Apply online using the instituitons application portal 

CGMH Current PhD students

Dr Tessa Roberts

Pedro Zitko

Dr Elaine C. Flores

Christina Daskalopoulou

Natasha Croome

Ms Georgina Miguel Esponda

Norha Vera San Juan

Asmae Doukani

Daiane machado, temitope ademosu.

Sachin Shinde

Caroline Smartt

Shivani Mathur Gaiha

Divya Kumar

We have 58 international mental health PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

All disciplines

All locations

Institution

All Institutions

All PhD Types

All Funding

international mental health PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Self-funded phds in health and social care: allied health professions, phd research project.

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

Self-Funded PhD Students Only

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Self-funded PhDs in Health and Social Care: Nursing and Midwifery

Self-funded phds in health and social care: social work and social care, ai-based interventions for mental health conditions, digital literacy for workers in ageing health workforces, funded phd project (students worldwide).

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Exploring the intersection of Ageing and Substance Use: Implications for older women’s health, mental health and wellbeing.

Integration of ai to improve engagement from underserved groups with digital mental health pathways.

The PhD opportunities on this programme do not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Social Sciences Research Programme

Social Sciences Research Programmes present a range of research opportunities, shaped by a university’s particular expertise, facilities and resources. You will usually identify a suitable topic for your PhD and propose your own project. Additional training and development opportunities may also be offered as part of your programme.

PhD studies in mental health, substance use disorders, multimorbidity, health services research (nursing, pharmacy, allied or public health focus)

Funded phd programme (students worldwide).

Some or all of the PhD opportunities in this programme have funding attached. Applications for this programme are welcome from suitably qualified candidates worldwide. Funding may only be available to a limited set of nationalities and you should read the full programme details for further information.

PhD Research Programme

PhD Research Programmes present a range of research opportunities shaped by a university’s particular expertise, facilities and resources. You will usually identify a suitable topic for your PhD and propose your own project. Additional training and development opportunities may also be offered as part of your programme.

Optimisation and feasibility testing of a self-administered gratitude intervention to promote mental health and wellbeing

Developing a psychoeducational digital health tool for psychotic-like experiences: an innovative approach to app-based intervention, mscr - early-life stress, susceptibility to mental health disorders and glia: central immune response in a rat model of pre-term birth, design of digital technology and machine learning solutions for mental health, understanding and addressing loneliness in people living with long-term health conditions, an ai driven approach for aiding towards the mental wellbeing of online social network users.

FindAPhD. Copyright 2005-2024 All rights reserved.

Unknown    ( change )

Have you got time to answer some quick questions about PhD study?

Select your nearest city

You haven’t completed your profile yet. To get the most out of FindAPhD, finish your profile and receive these benefits:

• Monthly chance to win one of ten £10 Amazon vouchers ; winners will be notified every month.*
• The latest PhD projects delivered straight to your inbox
• Access to our £6,000 scholarship competition
• Weekly newsletter with funding opportunities, research proposal tips and much more
• Early access to our physical and virtual postgraduate study fairs

Or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

*Offer only available for the duration of your active subscription, and subject to change. You MUST claim your prize within 72 hours, if not we will redraw.

Do you want hassle-free information and advice?

Create your FindAPhD account and sign up to our newsletter:

• Find out about funding opportunities and application tips
• Receive weekly advice, student stories and the latest PhD news
• Hear about our upcoming study fairs
• Save your favourite projects, track enquiries and get personalised subject updates

Create your account

Looking to list your PhD opportunities? Log in here .

Filtering Results

LPCs and LMFTs Now Eligible for Medicare: What to Know

August 8, 2024

In this Psychology of Aging episode, we dive deep into the recent changes in Medicare policies that now allow Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) to enroll as Medicare providers. This landmark policy update, effective January 1, 2024, opens up new opportunities for mental health professionals and significantly expands access to care for older adults and those with long-term disabilities. Our expert guests, Dr. Matthew Fullen and Dr. Mary Chase Mize, share their insights on the implications of this policy change, the enrollment process, and how this will shape the future of mental health care for older adults.

Key Topics Covered:

• Explanation of the 2024 Medicare policy updates that allow LPCs and LMFTs to enroll as Medicare providers.
• Historical context: The last major update in 1989 and why this new change is significant.
• How this policy change impacts LPCs, LMFTs, and their ability to serve older adults.
• The importance of this change for expanding the mental health workforce.
• Step-by-step guide on how LPCs and LMFTs can enroll in Medicare.
• Common challenges and tips for navigating the enrollment process.
• How this policy change will improve access to mental health services for older adults.
• The role of LPCs and LMFTs in addressing the growing mental health needs of the aging population.
• Potential shifts in the mental health landscape as more LPCs and LMFTs become Medicare providers.
• Collaboration opportunities with other mental health professionals to enhance care for older adults.
• Dr. Fullen and Dr. Mize share their personal experiences and the rewards of working with older adults in the mental health field.
• The importance of addressing ageism and ableism in mental health care.

Resources and Links:

• Medicare Enrollment for LPCs and LMFTs

Are You a Mental Health Provider? 

If you’re an LPC or LMFT, now is the time to enroll in Medicare and expand your practice to include older adults. Visit the CMS website for more information on the enrollment process, and consider additional training in geriatric mental health to enhance your services. For those seeking mental health care, ask your provider if they accept Medicare and explore the new options available to you.

Subscribe & Follow

Don’t miss out on future episodes where we discuss more important changes in mental health policy and practices. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you listen to podcasts.

About Today’s Guests

About mary chase mize, phd, lpc.

Dr. Mary Chase Mize (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor of clinical mental health counseling at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), and is Certified in Thanatology – Death, Dying, and Bereavement (CT). She earned her PhD in Counselor Education, MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and MA in Gerontology from Georgia State University. Dr. Mize manages Seek and Find Counseling and Consulting, a small private practice where she provides counseling services to older adults and individuals experiencing grief, bereavement, death anxiety, major life transitions, and suicide ideation and loss. Dr. Mize also serves as a professional consultant and co-author to The Keep/Watch Project, an effort from the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta to equip religious and spiritual communities with suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention response skills. Her research is focused on community-based suicide intervention and prevention efforts with older adults, equipping faith-based communities respond to suicide, and preparing counselors to work with older adult clients.

Learn more about Dr. Mary Chase Mize on her website here

About Matthew Fullen, PhD, LPCC

Dr. Matthew Fullen is an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech where he teaches in the counselor education program and serves as affiliate faculty for the Virginia Tech Center for Gerontology. Dr. Fullen’s research, teaching, and advocacy focus on the mental health needs of older adults, with an emphasis on addressing gaps in Medicare mental health policy and developing programs to enhance resilience & wellness and prevent suicide among older adults. Dr. Fullen is the counseling profession’s most active scholar on aging and mental health, with over 40 peer-reviewed publications and over 95 peer-reviewed conference presentations and keynotes. Dr. Fullen has received research grant funding from both public and private entities, including the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the Mather Institute, to develop programs that support older adults’ mental health. In recognition of his research and professional leadership related to Medicare advocacy, he has received the Virginia Tech Land Grant Scholar Award, as well as three national awards from the American Counseling Association (Counselor Educator Advocacy Award (2023), top Research Award (2021), and Carl D. Perkins Government Relations Award (2020).

More information about Dr. Matthew Fullen and his work can be found at agewellcounseling.org .

[00:00:00] Matthew Fullen: Pre Medicare law change, you just hear really heartbreaking stories about individuals who are starting to work with a counselor or a marriage and family therapist who then have to find someone else because As I They aged into Medicare or because they qualified for long term disability and then had to look elsewhere cases like that or cases where they wanted to work with a professional and nobody in their area was taking Medicare and it was a six month wait list before they could receive help.

[00:00:34] So we're excited to contribute to the broader mental health workforce that Medicare. now recognizes.

[00:00:43] Regina Koepp: you're going to let us in on some important information about Medicare billing for licensed professional counselors and LMFTs and other master's level licensed therapists. Dr. Matthew Fullen is an associate professor at Virginia Tech where he teaches in the counselor education program and serves as affiliate faculty for the Virginia Tech Center for Gerontology. Dr. Fullen's research, teaching, and advocacy focus on the mental health needs of older adults with an emphasis on addressing gaps in Medicare mental health policy and developing programs to enhance resilience and wellness and prevent suicide among older adults.

[00:01:23] He's the counseling profession's most active scholar on aging and mental health with over 40 peer reviewed publications and over 95 peer reviewed conference presentations and keynotes.

[00:01:34] Dr. Mary Chase Mize is an assistant professor of clinical mental health counseling at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, a licensed professional counselor and an approved clinical supervisor and is certified in thanatology, death and dying and bereavement. She's earned her PhD in counselor education, an MS in clinical mental health counseling and MA in gerontology from Georgia State University.

[00:01:58] Dr. Mize manages Seek and Find Counseling and Consulting, a small private practice where she provides counseling services to older adults and individuals experiencing grief, bereavement, death anxiety, major life transitions, and suicide ideation and loss. She also serves as professional consultant and co author to the Keep Watch Project, an effort from the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta to equip religious and spiritual communities with suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention response skills.

[00:02:29] Matt Fullen and Mary Chase Mize, thank you both for being here today. I'm delighted that you're here and you're going to let us in on some important information about Medicare billing for licensed professional counselors and LMFTs and other master's level licensed therapists.

[00:02:49] Regina Koepp: Mary Chase, will you give an overview of who professional counselors are and why it's important that LPCs, which is licensed professional counselor, and LMFTs, which is licensed marriage and family therapists, are now eligible to enroll as Medicare providers?

[00:03:07] Mary Chase Mize: Absolutely. Licensed professional counselors are a helping profession. We are trained to help individuals and their families and groups and folks achieve wellness. And our, there's a lot of similarities in, in, in work we talk about LPC, LMFT, LCSW, it gets like alphabet soup a little bit, and I would say that, providing psychotherapy, is a common ground and and certainly one that it's important that we know what these other specialties are doing and how they do it and also knowing, what's counseling, what does that look like?

[00:03:47] And we our training is very comparable to other types of helping professions like LCSW, like LMFT where we have Sequences of coursework. Our program is a 60 hour master's degree in, in mental health counseling and with a supervised clinical practicum sequence in that so that folks are then licensed eligible once they graduate and then actually practice.

[00:04:13] under supervision for additional years after completing their master's degrees to then achieve full licensure as a licensed professional counselor. And that's an overall look at what a counselor does. And I think another way of really talking about that is to talk about what my life looks like as a counselor and a lot of the kind of work that I do.

[00:04:32] And I have worked in a hospital setting. I was in an emergency room, And then short term inpatient stabilization unit, that was my first kind of clinical experience. And that involved doing assessments in the hospital for folks who might be having a mental health crisis. It also involved working alongside social work and other types of helping support to get folks safe upon discharge from the hospital and things like that.

[00:04:58] Coordinating care and counseling referrals and psychiatry referrals and All of that sort of work and then after that I worked in a community agency that was a mental health care agency, where the staff was a mix of folks who were licensed clinical social workers and licensed professional counselors, and we provided counseling services to the community, and that was where I first got involved with older adult counseling, and so my work there, I did my doctoral training there, And when I was doing my PhD, and I got to go to people's homes, to older adults homes who lived in different types of like senior housing HUD Section 8 housing, different sorts of areas there, some nursing homes, as well as assisted living care.

[00:05:42] And so I got to actually visit with older adults in their home, because sometimes that commute to the clinic, and this of course is pre COVID, before we realized how much we can do through telehealth, right? That was a really meaningful aspect of my work of going and talking and helping older adults achieve not just wellness goals, but also working through some substantial struggles that they're having in their life, different types of life transition.

[00:06:07] I worked with an older adult who had lived independently in the community for over 90 years. And then after an injury is now in a nursing home and so helping her and her family start to adjust to And so I wanted to show this change that has happened that is impacting, every aspect of how she sees herself and how she sees the days ahead for her and and then also saw folks in the clinic as well.

[00:06:32] And of course, after COVID started really expanding that telehealth access as well to older adults. And so now I have a small private practice where I work with folks. All through telehealth and especially older adults and I'm doing a lot of work with grief and bereavement. And the work of the counselor to go back to your original question is really bearing witness to and holding this kind of vulnerable, sacred space with people.

[00:07:00] As they navigate these challenges in their life, as they navigate distress that they may be experiencing from a mental health condition that we're, equipped to diagnose and work alongside to help provide treatment for. And also to have, room for those things that happen that can make life hard.

[00:07:18] And how to have someone provide that kind of safe therapeutic relationship and I think being able to hold that space with older adults is one of the most impactful and important things I think I'll probably ever do with my life.

[00:07:32] Regina Koepp: Beautiful. You both have alluded to as you're talking about yourselves and this work, Medicare.

[00:07:40] And Matt, I'm wondering if you could share a bit about what what some of the barriers are, were with Medicare billing related to LPCs and LMFTs, and then what the new changes are and what will LPCs and LMFTs have the opportunity to do with Medicare.

[00:07:58] Matthew Fullen: Absolutely. Yeah, so prior to the last few years the last time that Congress had updated mental health policy within Medicare was in 1989.

[00:08:10] And so in 1989, licensed clinical social workers were added as approved mental health providers and there were certain restrictions removed from the practice of psychologists at that time as well. So in 1989 the mental health needs of older adults were increasingly becoming known. We also knew at that point that there was this sort of projected demographic shift that we, would hear people alluding to.

[00:08:39] And yet, it hadn't quite emerged fully just yet. So fast forward 35 roughly years and you have older adults, that demographically have really increased dramatically with the boomer generation hitting 65 and just all of these demographic shifts that had been projected You know, we're now fully in the midst of that, we went through this global pandemic that we continue to navigate telehealth became, much more of a way to increase accessibility.

[00:09:10] So there are these number of shifts that had happened during that period of time. And yet. The last time the program itself had been updated continued to be, quite some time ago. In the midst of that there, there was ongoing legislative advocacy that many mental health groups, including groups that have an affiliation with professional counseling and marriage and family therapy, as well as broad Medicare advocacy groups.

[00:09:39] and consumer advocacy groups both those that really focus on older adulthood and aging, as well as those That focus more generally on mental health access there. There was this emergent coalition of advocacy groups that had been making, making these issues known to Congress over the better part of the last 15 to 20 years, but that really ramped up just in the last 5 years or so, as there was more.

[00:10:09] of a shared awareness that this was a bipartisan issue, that this was something that had a lot to get behind, a lot to there was, some degree of shared buy in around the growing mental health needs of Americans, and specifically the growing mental health needs of older Americans, and on top of that then, being able to highlight that this, Policy, the mental health provider policy was 30 plus years out of date, and during that period of time, the mental health workforce had really continued to evolve.

[00:10:44] And one of the things that is important to highlight is that when you look at sort of the macro landscape, there are Conservatively, 200, 000 licensed professional counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists not all of those individuals are independently licensed, they may be at different stages in the licensure journey, but that's 200, 000 plus professionals who have completed it.

[00:11:10] at least a master's degree, oftentimes in a 60 credit program, have had those supervised experiences that Mary Chase alluded to. And really what we had then was a mental health workforce that had been maybe unknowingly sidelined by the Medicare program. Nobody chose to draw it up that way. It was just the, the peculiarity of history.

[00:11:32] And so as that advocacy began to really pick up, And, I think there was more and more of that just shared buy in, again, bipartisan that this was something that would be very beneficial. We also saw, indicators in early 2023, so the Biden administration released its proposed budget and within that proposed budget within health care and mental health care was a recommendation to include professional counselors and marriage and family therapists.

[00:12:05] We also found that over the, over the years there was increasingly an understanding from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services that there was a mental health workforce shortage and a misalignment between Medicaid and Medicare. That really needed to be looked at more closely.

[00:12:24] And so we saw some shifts in 2020, early parts of 2022 where CMS was making some recommendations about how we could use counselors and marriage family therapists more readily, but they also indicated we really can only go so far. Unless Congress changes Medicare law because of the way that statute is drawn up.

[00:12:46] So all that to say that in December of 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was the omnibus budget bill that Congress and the administration we're working on together within that proposed bill, was the language of the Mental Health Workforce Improvement Act, which, again, included licensed mental health counselors which is a Really just the different nomenclature, but the same thing as licensed professional counselors, as well as licensed marriage and family therapists that budget was passed and signed into law by President Biden at the end of 2022, with a projected start date of January 1, 2024. That new mental health provider regulation went into effect. And we're very early in this process but licensed professional counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists can now enroll in the Medicare program.

[00:13:46] And that enrollment process does take a little bit of time. There are some, hoops that are jumped through not unlike other forms of insurance.

[00:13:55] I'm now approved. I'm paneled by Medicare. And I can begin serving Medicare recipients as part of my practice. And we are seeing even though we're very early in this process, all of that hard work on the advocacy side really starting to bear fruit. And our expectation then is over the next several years.

[00:14:15] We will begin to see the saturation point among these new professions as they adapt internally to these new opportunities. So it is important to keep in mind that, licensed counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists trained to meet the needs of individuals who are, working through mental health conditions of all sorts.

[00:14:39] And some of these professionals have identified ways to serve older adults in spite of being excluded from the Medicare program up to this point. But there is some degree of catch up that will happen within our training programs, within downstream, as graduate students think about which profession Do I want to receive my training in those individuals who have more of an interest in older adulthood may be more inclined.

[00:15:07] To become counselors or marriage and family therapists than had previously been the case. And so it'll be really interesting to see how over the next few years, how that some of those dynamics play out. But the most exciting piece of all of this is that older adults and people with long term disabilities who rely on Medicare for mental health access will now have a better shot at finding a mental health professional in the communities where they live.

[00:15:34] Pre Medicare law change, you just hear really heartbreaking stories about individuals who are starting to work with a counselor or a marriage and family therapist who then have to find someone else because As I They aged into Medicare or because they qualified for long term disability and then had to look elsewhere cases like that or cases where they wanted to work with a professional and nobody in their area was taking Medicare and it was a six month wait list before they could receive help.

[00:16:08] So we're excited to contribute to the broader mental health workforce that Medicare. now recognizes. And to your question about what can counselors or marriage and family therapists do, it really is pretty equivalent across the board when it comes to what those professionals and licensed clinical social workers and to some degree what psychologists do as well.

[00:16:33] So anything that is in the talk therapy realm within the Medicare program, Is included and there are also increasingly efforts at the CMS level to try to provide a way to be reimbursed for adjacent therapies that might be a consultation with family that might be HBAI codes that are not necessarily fully focused on the mental health diagnosis, but some of the other health diagnoses that may be impacting their prognosis.

[00:17:04] And so it really is a pretty wide open book in terms of what the reimbursement itself can look like and which services Medicare recipients can receive from LPCs and LMFTs.

[00:17:16] Regina Koepp: Do LPCs and LMFTs need any specialized training to qualify for Medicare? So do they need any training above and beyond what they have with their license?

[00:17:27] Like a certificate in geriatric mental health or can they just apply based on their license?

[00:17:33] Matthew Fullen: Yeah, so the statute is written to allow anyone that is independently licensed in the state in which they practice is eligible. They do have to have either two years of supervised clinical experience, and that's very, broadly and that would be the prerequisite for independent licensure in those states anyway, in most cases.

[00:17:55] So either two years. Or 3, 000 hours of supervised experience. So there's no stipulation that they have to have unique training around working with older adults. However, my, my hope is that providers who enter in to the Medicare program will look for opportunities to not only use the skills that they already possess and try to apply those with a new population of individuals, but real, really early.

[00:18:24] look to opportunities to raise the bar when it comes to serving older people in particular. And that's where we're excited to partner with our peer professionals from psychology, social work, psychiatry Where there is a longer history of being able to work within the Medicare program and provide services to older people.

[00:18:47] And being able to find opportunities to collaborate around training and to really glean from other professions. How did you navigate this when you were first integrated into the program? How do you think about that from an individual provider standpoint? And then how do you think about that?

[00:19:06] From that macro professional standpoint, where we may need to look at accreditation standards in our training programs, or we may need to look at competencies that have not had the same need to be developed prior to this point.

[00:19:22] So there really is a, a lot of exciting opportunities to serve people through this program, but also ways that these professions will have to evolve themselves.

[00:19:31] Regina Koepp: Mary Chase, how do you see professional counselors complementing existing mental health care professionals in serving the needs of older adults?

[00:19:38] Absolutely. To echo what Matt said earlier, that there's, this one piece of it that over 200, 000 providers. Give or take now are eligible to fill in some gaps that may exist, whether that's from proximity to mental health providers, folks in more rural areas, things like that, where it's just the workforce just can't quite meet the needs. That older adults may have in terms of mental health care services and so that's, I see licensed professional counselors filling in some places to and I think this is true of most helping professions.

[00:20:17] Mary Chase Mize: There's this, there's a gap there. The Geriatric Health Care workforce needs to be bigger. We need more providers. We need more providers. In medicine and mental and behavioral health, across all these different disciplines. And so this feels like an amazing timing and opportunity to say, here's a, here's an entire profession that can now enter that geriatric workforce.

[00:20:42] And help support those, the, the things that we look ahead to 2040, 2050, 2060 and seeing how the United States is going to look a lot different in terms of age demographics. And that's one way of joining in. And, the other, the way that I see it I feel really lucky because I feel like I've had the opportunity to see this prior to, some of the official aspects of how this can be sustainable for a professional counselor.

[00:21:09] So I'll give you an example of that. When I did my PhD, I did a practicum and a doctoral practicum and internship at an agency that Focused on older adult counseling. And so I was able to do that because I was completing a practicum and internship sequence and while I was there, there was a job posting available for an older adult counselor.

[00:21:36] And even though I was doing that work, I couldn't apply for the job because I needed to take Medicare, right? So I had this I had this opportunity to work alongside social work, to work alongside psychiatry, to work alongside psychology I had that opportunity immersed in that. But it wasn't something that would be sustainable or even like replicable unless you were getting a PhD, right?

[00:21:57] Like it was in that kind of like narrow place. But while I was there I, gosh, it was incredible because oftentimes how I got connected to clients was often a result of case management. It was a result of like geriatric case management where they have these. Warm relationships with older adults who have case management for, any particular reason.

[00:22:22] And through knowing and understanding what's going on for that person having this oh we've got this counselor who might be able to, talk with you about this stress that you have around your relationship with your daughter now. Or to meet with you for some grief counseling after the loss of a spouse.

[00:22:39] or to help you navigate this, tumultuous relationship with your brother and, different types of things that are life and that, happen in life that through that kind of collaboration with the geriatric case management services, I got to step in and offer that service.

[00:22:56] And this was unique to the agency where I was because it was family and career services of Atlanta. And they have a very Wonderful Holocaust survivor support program. And so that was another way of through the, through this the survivor services for families, for individuals, there were a couple of instances that I got passed along as a potential referral for a particular need or struggle that someone may be experiencing that was known and passed along through that program.

[00:23:25] And so that was a way that was like, the agency was had all these moving pieces same with, with, they have a dental clinic as well. So way of helping provide dental care to folks across the lifespan, but also knowing, oh, there's this person who receives the service.

[00:23:40] Who's has, this struggle has expressed that they would like to talk to someone. where does that fit in and so I was able to just slip in and become that referral within those different networks of services that were provided and then and then working alongside folks who, there were some LCSWs who their role there was as a therapist, so their role was to do the talk therapy.

[00:24:06] There were other LCSWs there whose role was case management. Yeah. And getting to Enter in and immerse in some of those settings and I see that I feel very optimistic and I see that as something that it's just the beginning of how and what a counselor could look like in those settings and different doors that Medicare offers through that.

[00:24:26] I'm thinking like hospice. Hospice care and being able to complement existing services that may be provided through hospice, whether that's chaplaincy or social work or case management, things like that, being able to become another person who's part of that network of support to say, Hey I'm okay, but I'm worried about my daughter when this is all done.

[00:24:49] Would you be able to, refer to someone who I can talk with and things like that? Yeah, I think that answered the question, I hope it

[00:24:55] Regina Koepp: does. Yeah, I'm also hopeful I was providing a year and a half training kind of program to a community mental health agency. In Georgia, a couple of years ago, prior to this the passing of Medicare and I was doing a cultural humility training, not necessarily focused on older adults.

[00:25:12] And then I was like, y'all really need to get trained in working with older adults too. Can I provide a training to you? And the director, the clinical director was saying We, many of our clinicians, because most of our clinicians are LMFTs and LPCs, can't bill Medicare, so we're not seeing as many.

[00:25:27] We're referring out. And so my hope is that community mental health clinics who are very likely to take Medicare because they can get grants and SAMHSA grants, like all sorts of grants to do this will start to serve more older adults as well and my hope is that will improve access.

[00:25:46] Tremendously. I think that the hospice is a great area to and I'm just thinking about, in community mental health where we're serving so many people that older adults were left out because of the Medicare issue. And and I just am so grateful that this has passed because it's improving access.

[00:26:06] My big complaint though, is that Medicare maybe, Maybe Matt and your advocacy, you can ask Medicare to increase their repayment reimbursement rate because a lot of clinicians don't want to be on a Medicare panel because the reimbursement rate is so low, which is another barrier for therapists who have high student loans and older adults who need the Medicare, right?

[00:26:32] Matthew Fullen: Yeah, that particular issue is certainly one that pops up. And I think now that the number of people at the table has expanded so much it could very well be that the advocacy around things like reimbursement rates just we're stronger when we're all in it together.

[00:26:49] And to be able to impress upon congressional decision makers that this is also a barrier that gets in the way. And that leads to non participation in the program and things of that nature. I'm so glad you mentioned community mental health because In some ways that workforce infrastructure is already in place and as you mentioned is already accustomed to third party billing with Medicaid and Medicare in many cases and so it really could be as simple as just flipping that switch and say now our providers who we already are accustomed to working with.

[00:27:25] If we can enroll them in bulk and then do more targeted outreach to make sure that older people in our communities know that what we do here also belongs to them. And there may need to be a little bit of public relations work from those community mental health centers that had to, in some ways, turn that part of the population away for so long to now invite them back in and say, we're ready to serve you and we're ready to do that in a way that is culturally competent and can really meet the developmental needs that you have and so I think that's a really excellent point, and I hope they'll bring you in to do those trainings.

[00:28:03] They absolutely should.

[00:28:05] Regina Koepp: Yeah, I agree. Give me a call. All of you, community mental health agencies, I was thinking to there's a statistic by 2034, there will be more people 65 and older than children under the age of 18. I know for psychologists The last I looked, it was like 1. 2 percent of psychologists specialize with older adults, whereas something like close to 15 percent specialize with children.

[00:28:33] And so there is so much discrepancy, related to ageism, misconceptions about what's typical with aging and not, what misconceptions about what it's actually like to work with older people. I had a misconception about I used to think early in my career, I want to work with older adults, especially older adults at the end of life on hospice, but I don't want to work with people with dementia, and then I started working with, and I had a totally ableist approach and so I had to challenge myself to think more inclusively and relearn some of the messages I got about dementia and disability, and And then I learned to love working with individuals with dementia and families caring for loved ones with dementia and doing family systems work.

[00:29:16] The, there is so much ableism and ageism that influence my psychology, like psychology peers, mental health peers, medicine peers in doing this work. And I think the more conversations like we are having about how are we improving access from a policy perspective. So thanks for all of your advocacy.

[00:29:36] And now from a social perspective, like the gifts that come with working with older folks. And their families and people with disability, the gifts that come I guess

[00:29:47] I'm curious just to move from our head to our hearts a little bit about if you were going to share some of the gifts that you get from working with older adults What would you share?

[00:30:01] Like, how would, what would you say would be the most important part of doing this work from a soul kind of heart perspective?

[00:30:11] Mary Chase Mize: I love that question. And I'm sure I'll think of more things, but just off the bat I have so many moments with clients and I can definitely echo some of the I know I want to do this work, but there's this part of me that's who's going to listen to me?

[00:30:25] If I'm, a 30 something person. Working with someone who's in their eighties or, I had this self imposed I don't know enough to do anything like, that, that sort of thing. And I see that in my students. I see that as a kind of a hesitation that they may have.

[00:30:41] And I would certainly echo, ableism and ageism and these kinds of societal level isms that we're, we are encountering and we really see it show up in that kind of one on one interaction. But I've, I feel like one of the biggest gifts of working with older adults and from my experience of it is, it's this very shared experience of humanity, like you have this opportunity to sit with someone and, you have this kind of like a sacred space of I'm going to be with someone who's sharing their, the vulnerabilities of their life.

[00:31:17] And they're trusting me with this experience, this struggle, this, whatever it may be. And and then realizing that's age is so important. It's something that we all hope to one day share in, like becoming an older adult and it's this one aspect of, our identities that we might all one day share together and want to have, and that the, that aging is living.

[00:31:41] And so hearing that with my clients, it's like the con, the conceptions of what I might think. That would come up in a counseling session with an older adult. It's touching on my humanity. It's touching on my fears. It's touching on my anxieties. It's touching on, this kind of shared life experience and, seeing them as how lucky to live that way.

[00:32:06] this life, how lucky to be in a place where I'm, I've reached this age of where I saw my career go and what I did, with my life and work and what I'm continuing to do now, or what really matters to me after having, decades of, Things that I thought mattered.

[00:32:23] This is where this is what matters and it makes me feel like it. It's it changed is my perspective of what it is that I'm, investing my time into or my hope or fear or anxiety and to and it really is this I feel like it unlocks this level. of your humanity that you didn't know you had.

[00:32:44] Like it, it's like this way of caring for and being with another person that I do think is unique to that therapeutic relationship. But it's to me, it just feels like it's another level of being able to share that space with an older adult.

[00:33:01] Thank you.

[00:33:02] Matthew Fullen: I would just add that there's something about sitting across from someone who has been through life on all of the ups and downs of what life throws at you and being able to see and reflect in them and give voice to them the way that they have survived it.

[00:33:25] No matter what that what their story might consist of, like they are there and able to You know, to, to speak that back. There's something that is just very settling about that. Midlife has its fair share of anxieties and questions and what ifs and will I be enough and will I, do enough and what will my legacy be?

[00:33:48] And, all of these questions that sort of drive us to places of productivity and places of trying to. Make a name for ourselves and have careers and make enough money and not to diminish those sorts of midlife questions, but there's something about sitting across from people who have come through that, and who can in some ways speak to a place of they they've done it whether they feel like they've done it the way they wanted to or done it successfully, that may be the nature of what we're talking about in a session but they've made it, they've made it to that end point.

[00:34:25] And so there's something about that, that I think is a gift. For the therapist that is really hard to it's really hard to describe to someone else who hasn't had that gift. And so if I'm trying to relay the sort of the the opportunities of serving older people. To students who may not be as accustomed to that or have that interest, my, my desire is to convey to them like they're, we might talk this big game about, my, my clients teach me more than I teach my clients, but it is absolutely the case when you are working with older adult clients and there's this lack of, the trappings and errors and distractions of life that I think can be very refreshing and reorienting for me.

[00:35:16] And yeah it's always been just such a joy to work with people who are navigating some of those chapters.

[00:35:23] Mary Chase Mize: You just made me think about a client that I worked with who this was like early in my doctoral practicum, and we were talking about something, and I don't even remember what it was at the context, but she said it like flippantly, but she was like no one's going to be pulling a U Haul behind my hearse.

[00:35:38] With all my stuff in it and like the way she's when she's that was a moment for me and there will be moments where I'm still doing something or thinking about something and I hear her voice being like no one's gonna have a U Haul with your stuff and that like that's a you know a kind of a funny example of it but that was one of many types of things that I'm like wow this is I don't know that I would have that experience Working with someone my age. I don't know that someone my age would say that. Maybe they would.

[00:36:06] Regina Koepp: Seems more relevant. That's the later stage of life.

[00:36:10] I'm sitting here thinking about, I'm just listening to you two and I'm also thinking do a lot of psychotherapy and I practice from a relational perspective, and I think relationships are reciprocal.

[00:36:22] My patients don't know what they give to me, but they can feel that they give me something. And, I don't tell them all the, all of my inner workings and what they're giving to me. But I think they know and believe that the, What they're giving to me is equally rich and meaningful as what I'm offering to them in psychotherapy.

[00:36:43] And I think, to me, what's also so powerful about that is that this intergenerational experience so I'm approaching 50, and when I started working with older adults, I was in my 20s, and just to see, and many of my patients saw me pre, before I was married, and then when I got married, and then saw me pregnant, and then after I had kids.

[00:37:03] And and because I worked with my patients for a long time, like some 10, 12, somebody I work with now for 14 years and and he's seen me through so many iterations of my middle aged life and I think This experience of this intergenerational experience of both coming and approaching. We both have to address our own biases about the other person.

[00:37:30] We're both coming into the room, me with ageism, maybe them with internalized ageism, but them with questions like, is this younger person going to be able to help me through this life transition or whatever I'm dealing with? And that somehow we both have to do the work to meet to really see each other and back to that humanity piece that you're talking about, Mary Chase, I think is a really powerful ingredient in therapy, especially this intergenerational therapy.

[00:37:56] I think as a therapist, my boundaries don't have to be as firm with older adults because they're inherent boundaries in our, Because we're different generations, we're not peers. And where if I'm working with somebody closer to my own age, I have to be much more boundaried because there aren't as many inherent boundaries in our relationship.

[00:38:15] And that gives me a lot of freedom, like emotional freedom, which I really like in working with older folks and older families. I think there's so many gifts. to working with older adults. In fact, I just did a podcast, an episode about that five things older adults have taught me in working with them.

[00:38:32] And and I hope the lessons, and I'm sure the lessons, will just keep coming. Absolutely.

[00:38:38] Matthew Fullen: I think that's it's like have this secret when you've had the opportunity to work with older clients like you, through your experience, just how much you also receive from that.

[00:38:49] And I think there's a deep desire to for me to want my colleagues and my students and other people who have maybe not had that gift I want them to be able to experience it too. And sometimes trying to navigate that thick layer of ageism or ableism, or for the longest time, it was this policy that just created a barrier.

[00:39:19] I think when we speak with such exuberance about finally being at the table, it's not just some professional equity issue. It's not just some, Oh new markets to be able to, work with. It is a desire to be able to engage our peers in our profession in this incredibly satisfying work and to be able to offer whatever it is we have to offer as professionals.

[00:39:51] to the countless older people who would benefit from that sort of reciprocity, if only given the opportunity. So for me, like that's where it's at. We want to we want to participate. We want to learn from people like you, Regina, and others who have been doing this work for a long time.

[00:40:10] We want to be able to fully engage Because we believe that something beautiful will come from that. And we're just really excited to be to finally have that opportunity.

[00:40:22] Regina Koepp: I am so excited. I just think of how much needless suffering there is. And these misconceptions that older people, it's typical if you're depressed or anxious or have dementia.

[00:40:35] That then they're not getting services resulting in lots of suffering for the individual and the family and then the community and that by expanding access, we need professionals and we need to be working collaboratively and expanding services not reducing them.

[00:40:53] we need to wrap up. And as we do, let me just ask. how do people enroll in Medicare? Do they just Google, how do I enroll in Medicare?

[00:41:01] Matthew Fullen: CMS has that process laid out. And there is a, like a volume of applicants, of new applicants because of the new law going into effect, but it looks very similar to how people have enrolled in Medicare for a long time.

[00:41:14] And there should be similarities to enrolling in other third party payer systems. The opportunity is there and, again we envision that over months and years to come we'll see just this groundswell of professionals who are getting involved in this and hopefully that will continue to, yeah to make a difference in the opportunities that older people have.

[00:41:37] Regina Koepp: Thank you so much to the two of you for taking the time out of your busy lives and training. Because you're training emerging professionals and you have your own work and practices and efforts. I will be linking in the show notes to each of your websites so that folks can learn more about each of you.

[00:41:58] Do you have any parting words where people can find you, what you're hoping next steps are in the field? so much.

[00:42:05] ​

[00:42:05] Mary Chase Mize: Would say for me, I'm really excited about my role as a counselor educator right now. Because while, LPCs are absolutely positioned to start, enroll as Medicare providers, start working with older adult clients I feel like the work of graduating new clinicians to really dig into more of a gerontological specialty is really important and I'm really excited about that.

[00:42:35] And so I'm glad to be in this kind of role at my college of being able to provide that. That kind of gerontological lens to our existing curriculum. And I would say the timing of this is it's been unfortunate that it's taken this long for that legislation to be updated and for professional counselors, for counselor educators, this is really the, I feel like the start of something that could be really exciting and really meaningful and really important work.

[00:43:04] ​

[00:43:04] Matthew Fullen: Yeah, I would just add that, if a listener is looking for mental health care, those letters LPC or LMHC or LMFT those are the professions that we've been talking about.

[00:43:20] And it will take some time for that uptake to, for those professions to become fully enrolled. But if you're looking for services and you see someone with those letters, ask them if they take Medicare. If they say they don't, ask them why not. Ask them when they plan to do that. We want to put a little bit of the pressure on our own peer professionals to, to take that step.

[00:43:41] And if you're listening and you are a provider from a different background, I really genuinely want to look for ways to learn from what your professions have done for a much longer time, and I hope that LPCs and LMFTs that you might work alongside in your agencies will take advantage of that as well and try to learn from you and what you have to offer.

[00:44:05] And if you happen to be an LPC or an LMFT listening to this, go enroll today. Go find out more about what comes next. This is really an amazing opportunity to serve older people. And so I've just, like I alluded to earlier, I just really want people to do this work because it's such meaningful work.

[00:44:25] And it's so important to the older people in our communities.

[00:44:29] Regina Koepp: And to our own future selves.

[00:44:32] Matthew Fullen: Absolutely.

[00:44:32] Regina Koepp: Absolutely. Thank you so much to the two of you. I really appreciate your time and contribution today. Thank you.

Sign up to receive email updates

Enter your name and email address below and I'll send you periodic updates about the podcast.

Did you find value in this podcast episode?

Help others get access to the podcast by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Related Podcast

Anxiety in Elderly Adults: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments

Anxiety is NOT normal with aging and can be effectively treated. Unfortunately, anxiety in the elderly often goes undetected and untreated largely due to the false belief that with age it’s...

Why I Do Antiracist Work & Why You Should, Too

My heart is heavy this week with all that has been highlighted related to racial injustice and the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor…. and the millions of...

Noticing memory or mental health changes in your older loved one?

The next steps are as simple as 1-2-3…

• Share your concerns with your loved one directly and compassionately. 
• Help your loved one see their primary care provider. Sometimes mental health and memory changes are due to medical issues or medications that need to be assessed and managed by medical providers. 
• Help your loved one see a mental health professional. Don’t wait for medical issues to be resolved. People with medical conditions are more likely to experience mental health conditions and benefit from mental health care. Connect with a professional today.

Our provider directory can help you find a mental health professional who specializes in older adults.

Find a Professional 

A gero-psychiatrist.

Geriatric psychiatrists (also called Gero-Psychiatrists) are medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues that occur more commonly in older adults, such as dementia, depression, insomnia. They prescribe medications, but may or may not provide therapy.

A Neuropsychologist

A neuropsychologist is specialized in diagnosing brain disorders, like dementia (specifically what type of dementia a person has). They also help to identify if the changes in your loved one are mental health changes (like depression and anxiety) or brain health changes like a dementia disorder. 

A Therapist who specializes with older adults

“Therapist” is a broad term to identify licensed professionals trained to provide talk-therapy to treat or manage mental health conditions. They include psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists. Our therapists specialize in older adults.

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Biostatistics
• Environmental Health and Engineering
• Epidemiology
• Health Policy and Management
• Health, Behavior and Society
• International Health
• Mental Health
• Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
• Population, Family and Reproductive Health
• Program Finder
• Admissions Services
• Course Directory
• Academic Calendar
• Hybrid Campus
• Lecture Series
• Convocation
• Strategy and Development
• Implementation and Impact
• Integrity and Oversight
• In the School
• In the Field
• In Baltimore
• Resources for Practitioners
• Articles & News Releases
• In The News
• Statements & Announcements
• At a Glance
• Student Life
• Strategic Priorities
• Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity (IDARE)
• What is Public Health?
• Master of Health Science (MHS)

Offered By: Department of Mental Health

Onsite, Full-Time (9 months) | Onsite, Part-Time (2 years) | Online, Full-Time (9 months)

• MSPH Field Placements
• Master's Essays
• MAS Application Fee Waiver Requirements
• Master of Arts (MA) in Geography and Environmental Engineering
• Master of Arts and Master of Science in Public Health (MA/MSPH)
• Master of Arts in Public Health Biology (MAPHB)
• Master of Bioethics (MBE)
• Mission, Vision, and Values
• Student Experience
• Program Outcomes
• For Hopkins Undergraduate Students
• Master of Health Science (MHS) - Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Master of Health Science (MHS) - Department of Epidemiology
• Alumni Update
• MHS Combined with a Certificate Program
• Master of Health Science (MHS) - Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
• Alumni Highlights
• Post-Baccalaureate Program in Environmental Health for Pre-Medicine Students
• Bachelor's/MHS in Health Economics and Outcomes Research
• MHS HEOR Careers
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Concurrent School-Wide Master of Health Science Program in Biostatistics
• Master of Health Science - Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
• Master of Health Science Online (MHS) - Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
• Careers in Health Economics
• Core Competencies
• Meet the Director
• What is Health Economics
• MPH Capstone Schedule
• Concentrations
• Online/Part-Time Format
• Requirements

Tuition and Funding

• Executive Board Faculty
• Master of Science (MS) in Geography and Environmental Engineering
• Independent Professional Project and Final Essay 
• Program Objectives and Outcomes
• Internships
• Master of Science (ScM) - Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Master of Science (ScM) - Department of Biostatistics
• Master of Science (ScM) - Department of Epidemiology
• Master of Science (ScM) - Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
• ScM Faculty Advisers
• Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) in Geography and Environmental Engineering
• Bachelor's/MSPH in Health Policy
• FAQ for MSPH in Health Policy
• Field Placement Experience
• MSPH Capstone
• MSPH Practicum
• Required and Elective Courses
• Student Timeline
• Career Opportunities
• 38-Week Dietetics Practicum
• Completion Requirements
• MSPH/RD Program FAQ
• Program Goals
• Application Fee Waiver Requirements
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Department of Biostatistics
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Department of Epidemiology
• Program Goals and Expectations
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Clinical Investigation
• Track in Environmental Sustainability, Resilience, and Health
• Track in Exposure Sciences and Environmental Epidemiology
• Track in Health Security
• Track in Toxicology, Physiology and Molecular Mechanisms
• PhD in Geography and Environmental Engineering Faculty Advisers
• Recent Graduates and Dissertation Titles
• PhD Funding
• PhD TA Requirement
• Recent Dissertation Titles
• JHU-Tsinghua Doctor of Public Health
• Core Course Requirements
• Concentration in Women’s and Reproductive Health
• Custom Track
• Concentration in Environmental Health
• Concentration in Global Health: Policy and Evaluation
• Concentration in Health Equity and Social Justice
• Concentration in Health Policy and Management
• Concentration in Implementation Science
• Combined Bachelor's / Master's Programs
• Concurrent MHS Option for BSPH Doctoral Students
• Concurrent MSPH Option for JHSPH Doctoral students
• Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MD/PhD)
• Adolescent Health Certificate Program
• Bioethics Certificate Program
• Climate and Health Certificate Program
• Clinical Trials Certificate Program
• Community- Based Public Health Certificate Program
• Demographic Methods Certificate Program
• Environmental and Occupational Health Certificate Program
• Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals Certificate Program
• Evaluation: International Health Programs Certificate Program
• Food Systems, the Environment and Public Health Certificate Program
• Frequently Asked Questions for Certificate Programs
• Gender and Health Certificate Program
• Gerontology Certificate Program
• Global Digital Health Certificate Program
• Global Health Certificate Program
• Global Health Practice Certificate Program
• Health Communication Certificate Program
• Health Disparities and Health Inequality Certificate Program
• Health Education Certificate Program
• Health Finance and Management Certificate Program
• Health and Human Rights Certificate Program
• Healthcare Epidemiology and Infection Prevention and Control Certificate Program
• Humane Sciences and Toxicology Policy Certificate Program
• Humanitarian Health Certificate Program
• Implementation Science and Research Practice Certificate Program
• Injury and Violence Prevention Certificate Program
• International Healthcare Management and Leadership Certificate Program
• Leadership for Public Health and Healthcare Certificate Program
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Public Health Certificate Program
• Maternal and Child Health Certificate Program
• Mental Health Policy, Economics and Services Certificate Program
• Non-Degree Students General Admissions Info
• Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Certificate Program
• Population Health Management Certificate Program
• Population and Health Certificate Program
• Product Stewardship for Sustainability Certificate Program
• Public Health Advocacy Certificate Program
• Public Health Economics Certificate Program
• Public Health Informatics Certificate Program
• Public Health Practice Certificate Program
• Declaration of Intent - Public Health Preparedness
• Public Health Training Certificate for American Indian Health Professionals
• Public Mental Health Research Certificate Program
• Quality, Patient Safety and Outcomes Research Certificate Program
• Quantitative Methods in Public Health Certificate Program
• Requirements for Successful Completion of a Certificate Program
• Rigor, Reproducibility, and Responsibility in Scientific Practice Certificate Program
• Risk Sciences and Public Policy Certificate Program
• Spatial Analysis for Public Health Certificate Program
• Training Certificate in Public Health
• Tropical Medicine Certificate Program
• Tuition for Certificate Programs
• Vaccine Science and Policy Certificate Program
• Online Student Experience
• MAS and Affiliated Certificate Programs
• Barcelona Information
• Registration, Tuition, and Fees
• Agency Scholarship Application
• General Scholarship Application
• UPF Scholarship Application
• Course Evaluations
• Online Courses
• Registration
• General Institute Tuition Information
• International Students
• Directions to the Bloomberg School
• All Courses
• Important Guidance for ONSITE Students
• D.C. Courses
• Registration and Fees
• Cancellation and Closure Policies
• Application Procedures
• Career Search
• Current Activities
• Current Trainees
• Related Links
• Process for Appointing Postdoctoral Fellows
• Message from the Director
• Program Details
• Admissions FAQ
• Current Residents
• Elective Opportunities for Visiting Trainees
• What is Occupational and Environmental Medicine?
• Admissions Info
• Graduates by Year
• Compensation and Benefits
• How to Apply
• Academic Committee
• Course Details and Registration
• Tuition and Fees
• ONLINE SOCI PROGRAM
• Principal Faculty
• General Application
• JHHS Application
• Our Faculty
• Descripción los Cursos
• Programa en Epidemiología para Gestores de Salud, Basado en Internet
• Consultants
• Britt Dahlberg, PhD
• Joke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC
• Mark R. Luborsky, PhD
• Marsha Wittink, PhD
• Rebekka Lee, ScD
• Su Yeon Lee-Tauler, PhD
• Theresa Hoeft, PhD
• Vicki L. Plano Clark, PhD
• Program Retreat
• Mixed Methods Applications: Illustrations
• Announcements
• 2023 Call for Applications
• Jennifer I Manuel, PhD, MSW
• Joke Bradt, PhD
• Josiemer Mattei, PhD, MPH
• Justin Sanders, MD, MSc
• Linda Charmaran, PhD
• Nao Hagiwara, PhD
• Nynikka R. A. Palmer, DrPH, MPH
• Olayinka O. Shiyanbola, BPharm, PhD
• Sarah Ronis, MD, MPH
• Susan D. Brown, PhD
• Tara Lagu, MD, MPH
• Theresa Hoft, PhD
• Wynne E. Norton, PhD
• Yvonne Mensa-Wilmot, PhD, MPH
• A. Susana Ramírez, PhD, MPH
• Animesh Sabnis, MD, MSHS
• Autumn Kieber-Emmons, MD, MPH
• Benjamin Han, MD, MPH
• Brooke A. Levandowski, PhD, MPA
• Camille R. Quinn, PhD, AM, LCSW
• Justine Wu, MD, MPH
• Kelly Aschbrenner, PhD
• Kim N. Danforth, ScD, MPH
• Loreto Leiva, PhD
• Marie Brault, PhD
• Mary E. Cooley, PhD, RN, FAAN
• Meganne K. Masko, PhD, MT-BC/L
• PhuongThao D. Le, PhD, MPH
• Rebecca Lobb, ScD, MPH
• Allegra R. Gordon, ScD MPH
• Anita Misra-Hebert, MD MPH FACP
• Arden M. Morris, MD, MPH
• Caroline Silva, PhD
• Danielle Davidov, PhD
• Hans Oh, PhD
• J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, PhD RN ACHPN
• Jacqueline Mogle, PhD
• Jammie Hopkins, DrPH, MS
• Joe Glass, PhD MSW
• Karen Whiteman, PhD MSW
• Katie Schultz, PhD MSW
• Rose Molina, MD
• Uriyoán Colón-Ramos, ScD MPA
• Andrew Riley, PhD
• Byron J. Powell, PhD, LCSW
• Carrie Nieman MD, MPH
• Charles R. Rogers, PhD, MPH, MS, CHES®
• Emily E. Haroz, PhD
• Jennifer Tsui, Ph.D., M.P.H.
• Jessica Magidson, PhD
• Katherine Sanchez, PhD, LCSW
• Kelly Doran, MD, MHS
• Kiara Alvarez, PhD
• LaPrincess C. Brewer, MD, MPH
• Melissa Radey, PhD, MA, MSSW
• Sophia L. Johnson, PharmD, MPH, PhD
• Supriya Gupta Mohile, MD, MS
• Virginia McKay, PhD
• Andrew Cohen, MD, PhD
• Angela Chen, PhD, PMHNP-BC, RN
• Christopher Salas-Wright, PhD, MSW
• Eliza Park MD, MS
• Jaime M. Hughes, PhD, MPH, MSW
• Johanne Eliacin, PhD, HSPP
• Lingrui Liu ScD MS
• Meaghan Kennedy, MD
• Nicole Stadnick, PhD, MPH
• Paula Aristizabal, MD
• Radhika Sundararajan, MD
• Sara Mamo, AuD, PhD
• Tullika Garg, MD MPH FACS
• Allison Magnuson, DO
• Ariel Williamson PhD, DBSM
• Benita Bamgbade, PharmD, PhD
• Christopher Woodrell MD
• Hung-Jui (Ray) Tan, MD, MSHPM
• Jasmine Abrams, PhD
• Jose Alejandro Rauh-Hain, MD
• Karen Flórez, DrPH, MPH
• Lavanya Vasudevan, PhD, MPH, CPH
• Maria Garcia, MD, MPH
• Robert Brady, PhD
• Saria Hassan, MD
• Scherezade Mama, DrPH
• Yuan Lu, ScD
• 2021 Scholars
• Sign Up for Our Email List
• Workforce Training
• Cells-to-Society Courses
• Course/Section Numbers Explained
• Pathway Program with Goucher College
• The George G. Graham Lecture

About the MHS in Mental Health Program

The Master of Health Science degree is organized around a core set of four terms of graduate courses and a final research paper that demonstrates mastery of what has been learned in the coursework experience. Research is particularly active in the areas of: psychiatric epidemiology; genetic epidemiology of mental and behavioral disorders, cognitive health and aging; psychoactive drug use; school, family, and community-based preventive interventions; research methodology; youth violence; women’s mental health and pregnancy; global mental health; child sexual abuse and pedophilia; autism spectrum disorder and research on mental health service systems.

MHS in Mental Health Program Highlights

One-of-a-kind.

We are the only department of mental health at a school of public health in the U.S.

Flexible Learning

We offer full-time and part-time options

Diverse courses

Students can take courses across different departments at the School

World-class mentorship & research

Get research experience and mentorship from renowned public mental health experts

What Can You Do With a Graduate Degree In Mental Health?

MHS students do a variety of things after graduation. Several pursue advanced graduate training in doctoral programs or medical school. Other MHS students gain employment in academic institutes, community organizations, foundations, healthcare organizations, research and consulting firms, government agencies---making huge impact in lives of individuals and their communities. Visit the  Graduate Employment Outcomes Dashboard to learn about Bloomberg School graduates' employment status, sector, and salaries.

Sample Careers

• Epidemiologist
• Clinical quality improvement associate
• Survey operations manager
• Senior research analyst
• Social science research analyst
• Research administrator
• Program manager
• Project director
• Research assistant
• Research associate
• Program/research coordinator
• Social science analyst
• Healthcare consultant

Curriculum for the MHS in Mental Health

Browse an overview of the requirements for this master's program in the JHU  Academic Catalogue  and explore all course offerings in the Bloomberg School  Course Directory .

Current students can view the Department of Mental Health's student handbook on the Info for Current Students page .

Admissions Requirements

For general admissions requirements, please visit the How to Apply page. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The program begins in the fall.

Standardized Test Scores

Standardized test scores are  not required and not reviewed  for this program. If you have taken a standardized test such as the GRE or MCAT and want to submit your scores, please note that they will not be used as a metric during the application review.  Applications will be reviewed holistically based on all required application components.

Questions about the program? We're happy to help. Prospective Student or Applicant Inquiries [email protected]

Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses.

Información en español

Celebrating 75 Years! Learn More >>

• Science News
• Meetings and Events
• Social Media
• Press Resources
• Email Updates
• Innovation Speaker Series

Revolutionizing the Study of Mental Disorders

March 27, 2024 • Feature Story • 75th Anniversary

At a Glance:

• The Research Domain Criteria framework (RDoC) was created in 2010 by the National Institute of Mental Health.
• The framework encourages researchers to examine functional processes that are implemented by the brain on a continuum from normal to abnormal.
• This way of researching mental disorders can help overcome inherent limitations in using all-or-nothing diagnostic systems for research.
• Researchers worldwide have taken up the principles of RDoC.
• The framework continues to evolve and update as new information becomes available.

President George H. W. Bush proclaimed  the 1990s “ The Decade of the Brain  ,” urging the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and others to raise awareness about the benefits of brain research.

“Over the years, our understanding of the brain—how it works, what goes wrong when it is injured or diseased—has increased dramatically. However, we still have much more to learn,” read the president’s proclamation. “The need for continued study of the brain is compelling: millions of Americans are affected each year by disorders of the brain…Today, these individuals and their families are justifiably hopeful, for a new era of discovery is dawning in brain research.”

Still, despite the explosion of new techniques and tools for studying the brain, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), many mental health researchers were growing frustrated that their field was not progressing as quickly as they had hoped.

For decades, researchers have studied mental disorders using diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)—a handbook that lists the symptoms of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing a person with a disorder. But, among many researchers, suspicion was growing that the system used to diagnose mental disorders may not be the best way to study them.

“There are many benefits to using the DSM in medical settings—it provides reliability and ease of diagnosis. It also provides a clear-cut diagnosis for patients, which can be necessary to request insurance-based coverage of healthcare or job- or school-based accommodations,” said Bruce Cuthbert, Ph.D., who headed the workgroup that developed NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria Initiative. “However, when used in research, this approach is not always ideal.”

Researchers would often test people with a specific diagnosed DSM disorder against those with a different disorder or with no disorder and see how the groups differed. However, different mental disorders can have similar symptoms, and people can be diagnosed with several different disorders simultaneously. In addition, a diagnosis using the DSM is all or none—patients either qualify for the disorder based on their number of symptoms, or they don’t. This black-and-white approach means there may be people who experience symptoms of a mental disorder but just miss the cutoff for diagnosis.

Dr. Cuthbert, who is now the senior member of the RDoC Unit which orchestrates RDoC work, stated that “Diagnostic systems are based on clinical signs and symptoms, but signs and symptoms can’t really tell us much about what is going on in the brain or the underlying causes of a disorder. With modern neuroscience, we were seeing that information on genetic, pathophysiological, and psychological causes of mental disorders did not line up well with the current diagnostic disorder categories, suggesting that there were central processes that relate to mental disorders that were not being reflected in DMS-based research.”

Road to evolution

Concerned about the limits of using the DSM for research, Dr. Cuthbert, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota at the time, approached Dr. Thomas Insel (then NIMH director) during a conference in the autumn of 2008. Dr. Cuthbert recalled saying, “I think it’s really important that we start looking at dimensions of functions related to mental disorders such as fear, working memory, and reward systems because we know that these dimensions cut across various disorders. I think NIMH really needs to think about mental disorders in this new way.”

Dr. Cuthbert didn’t know it then, but he was suggesting something similar to ideas that NIMH was considering. Just months earlier, Dr. Insel had spearheaded the inclusion of a goal in NIMH’s 2008 Strategic Plan for Research to “develop, for research purposes, new ways of classifying mental disorders based on dimensions of observable behavior and neurobiological measures.”

Unaware of the new strategic goal, Dr. Cuthbert was surprised when Dr. Insel's senior advisor, Marlene Guzman, called a few weeks later to ask if he’d be interested in taking a sabbatical to help lead this new effort. Dr. Cuthbert soon transitioned into a full-time NIMH employee, joining the Institute at an exciting time to lead the development of what became known as the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Framework. The effort began in 2009 with the creation of an internal working group of interdisciplinary NIMH staff who identified core functional areas that could be used as examples of what research using this new conceptual framework looked like.

The workgroup members conceived a bold change in how investigators studied mental disorders.

“We wanted researchers to transition from looking at mental disorders as all or none diagnoses based on groups of symptoms. Instead, we wanted to encourage researchers to understand how basic core functions of the brain—like fear processing and reward processing—work at a biological and behavioral level and how these core functions contribute to mental disorders,” said Dr. Cuthbert.

This approach would incorporate biological and behavioral measures of mental disorders and examine processes that cut across and apply to all mental disorders. From Dr. Cuthbert’s standpoint, this could help remedy some of the frustrations mental health researchers were experiencing.

Around the same time the workgroup was sharing its plans and organizing the first steps, Sarah Morris, Ph.D., was a researcher focusing on schizophrenia at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. When she first read these papers, she wondered what this new approach would mean for her research, her grants, and her lab.

She also remembered feeling that this new approach reflected what she was seeing in her data.

“When I grouped my participants by those with and without schizophrenia, there was a lot of overlap, and there was a lot of variability across the board, and so it felt like RDoC provided the pathway forward to dissect that and sort it out,” said Dr. Morris.

Later that year, Dr. Morris joined NIMH and the RDoC workgroup, saying, “I was bumping up against a wall every day in my own work and in the data in front of me. And the idea that someone would give the field permission to try something new—that was super exciting.”

The five original RDoC domains of functioning were introduced to the broader scientific community in a series of articles published in 2010  .

To establish the new framework, the RDoC workgroup (including Drs. Cuthbert and Morris) began a series of workshops in 2011 to collect feedback from experts in various areas from the larger scientific community. Five workshops were held over the next two years, each with a different broad domain of functioning based upon prior basic behavioral neuroscience. The five domains were called:

• Negative valence (which included processes related to things like fear, threat, and loss)
• Positive valence (which included processes related to working for rewards and appreciating rewards)
• Cognitive processes
• Social processes
• Arousal and regulation processes (including arousal systems for the body and sleep).

At each workshop, experts defined several specific functions, termed constructs, that fell within the domain of interest. For instance, constructs in the cognitive processes domain included attention, memory, cognitive control, and others.

The result of these feedback sessions was a framework that described mental disorders as the interaction between different functional processes—processes that could occur on a continuum from normal to abnormal. Researchers could measure these functional processes in a variety of complementary ways—for example, by looking at genes associated with these processes, the brain circuits that implement these processes, tests or observations of behaviors that represent these functional processes, and what patients report about their concerns. Also included in the framework was an understanding that functional processes associated with mental disorders are impacted and altered by the environment and a person’s developmental stage.

Preserving momentum

Over time, the Framework continued evolving and adapting to the changing science. In 2018, a sixth functional area called sensorimotor processes was added to the Framework, and in 2019, a workshop was held to better incorporate developmental and environmental processes into the framework.;

Since its creation, the use of RDoC principles in mental health research has spread across the U.S. and the rest of the world. For example, the Psychiatric Ratings using Intermediate Stratified Markers project (PRISM)   , which receives funding from the European Union’s Innovative Medicines Initiative, is seeking to link biological markers of social withdrawal with clinical diagnoses using RDoC-style principles. Similarly, the Roadmap for Mental Health Research in Europe (ROAMER)  project by the European Commission sought to integrate mental health research across Europe using principles similar to those in the RDoC Framework.;

Dr. Morris, who has acceded to the Head of the RDoC Unit, commented: “The fact that investigators and science funders outside the United States are also pursuing similar approaches gives me confidence that we’ve been on the right pathway. I just think that this has got to be how nature works and that we are in better alignment with the basic fundamental processes that are of interest to understanding mental disorders.”

The RDoC framework will continue to adapt and change with emerging science to remain relevant as a resource for researchers now and in the future. For instance, NIMH continues to work toward the development and optimization of tools to assess RDoC constructs and supports data-driven efforts to measure function within and across domains.

“For the millions of people impacted by mental disorders, research means hope. The RDoC framework helps us study mental disorders in a different way and has already driven considerable change in the field over the past decade,” said Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., director of NIMH. “We hope this and other innovative approaches will continue to accelerate research progress, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure.”

Publications

Cuthbert, B. N., & Insel, T. R. (2013). Toward the future of psychiatric diagnosis: The seven pillars of RDoC. BMC Medicine , 11 , 126. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-126  

Cuthbert B. N. (2014). Translating intermediate phenotypes to psychopathology: The NIMH Research Domain Criteria. Psychophysiology , 51 (12), 1205–1206. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12342  

Cuthbert, B., & Insel, T. (2010). The data of diagnosis: New approaches to psychiatric classification. Psychiatry , 73 (4), 311–314. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2010.73.4.311  

Cuthbert, B. N., & Kozak, M. J. (2013). Constructing constructs for psychopathology: The NIMH research domain criteria. Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 122 (3), 928–937. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034028  

Garvey, M. A., & Cuthbert, B. N. (2017). Developing a motor systems domain for the NIMH RDoC program.  Schizophrenia Bulletin , 43 (5), 935–936. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbx095  

Kozak, M. J., & Cuthbert, B. N. (2016). The NIMH Research Domain Criteria initiative: Background, issues, and pragmatics. Psychophysiology , 53 (3), 286–297. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12518  

Morris, S. E., & Cuthbert, B. N. (2012). Research Domain Criteria: Cognitive systems, neural circuits, and dimensions of behavior. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience , 14 (1), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2012.14.1/smorris  

Sanislow, C. A., Pine, D. S., Quinn, K. J., Kozak, M. J., Garvey, M. A., Heinssen, R. K., Wang, P. S., & Cuthbert, B. N. (2010). Developing constructs for psychopathology research: Research domain criteria. Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 119 (4), 631–639. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020909  

• Presidential Proclamation 6158 (The Decade of the Brain) 
• Research Domain Criteria Initiative website
• Psychiatric Ratings using Intermediate Stratified Markers (PRISM)