What’s specific about the nature of mental health difficulties in students and how can this inform treatment?

This thesis explores how mental health service provision in university settings could be adapted to better meet the needs of students with mental health disorders. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of psychological interventions in student populations with, or at risk of, mental health disorders. The impact of adapting interventions for the particular needs of university students was also explored. Next, a cross-sectional survey of university students was conducted to explore differences in preferences for sources of support, and consider whether these may differ between international and UK resident students. Qualitative interviews and a confirmatory focus group further explored students’ experience of mental health support while at university, and provided preliminary ideas for the types of changes in services that students would hope to see. Finally, analyses were conducted using a large dataset of people who use National Health Service (NHS) psychological therapies: outcomes were compared between students and adults of the same age who were employed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. For the student population only, the association between changes on measures of social functioning and treatment outcomes was also explored using Growth Mixture Model analysis. Together, the research suggests that the adaptation of current service provision to consider a number of additional student-specific factors contributing to mental health difficulties could usefully be applied in both university mental health services and NHS psychological services. Improved integration of support across these two settings could also significantly contribute to improved university student well-being and mental health