An Appreciative Inquiry into the Service Needs of Doctoral Student Hands-on practices for enhancing researcher mental health and well-being

The Counselling Services Unit adopting research and evidence based interventions regularly refers to studies regarding student wellbeing at the University of Malta to plan its way forward. Quantitative studies conducted by Cefai and Camilleri (2009) and Cuschieri et al (2020) indicated that 65% of the students felt regularly satisfied and confident about their wellbeing. Over 50% of the students reported feeling overwhelmed. Third- and fifth-year students finishing their under-graduate and Master's degree respectively felt more stressed than first-year or single students. Dalli Gonzi and Camilleri (2021) noted that third, and final-year students tended to be in transition with final-year students moving into professional practice. 40% of students surveyed had difficulty discussing problems with anyone, including family and friends while 96% noted that their greatest source of stress were exams and assignments. Cefai and Camilleri (2009), recommended further studies taking on board students’ views, particularly the avoidance of professional help due to stigma. This inquiry adopts this recommendation for doctoral students. The inquiry aims at a) increasing understanding of doctoral students’ experiences during their doctorate journey; b) gaining insights into strategies used and resources required by doctoral students to better cope with their studies; c) supporting the emergence of themes that identify ways of facilitating a healthy adjustment/transition through the doctoral journey; d) creating and evaluating relevant interventions.This document is part of the Book of Abstracts of the ReMO 2022 Conference that was organized within the framework of COST Action CA19117 - "Researcher Mental Health"