(2018). Student mental health: some answers and more questions. Journal of Mental Health: Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 193-196.

Only 30-35% of people with mental health problems seek help from professionals. Informal help, usually from friends, family and religious leaders, is often sought but is under-researched. This study aimed to contrast patterns of informal and formal help-seeking using data from a community psychiatric morbidity survey (n=1692) (South East London Community Health (SELCOH) Study). Patterns of help-seeking were analysed by clinical, sociodemographic and socioeconomic indicators. Factors associated with informal and formal help-seeking were investigated using logistic regression. Cross-tabulations examined informal help-seeking patterns from different sources. ‘Cases’ (n = 386) were participants who had scores of ≥ 12 on the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R), indicating a common mental disorder. Of these, 40.1% had sought formal help, (of whom three-quarters (29%) had also sought informal help), 33.6% had sought informal help only and only 26.3% had sought no help. When controlling for non-clinical variables, severity, depression, suicidal ideas, functioning and longstanding illnesses were associated with formal rather than informal help-seeking. Age and ethnic group influenced sources of informal help used. Younger people most frequently sought informal help only whereas older people tended to seek help from their family. There were ethnic group differences in whether help was sought from friends, family or religious leaders. This study has shown how frequently informal help is used, whether in conjunction with formal help or not. Among the ‘cases’, over 60% had sought informal help, whether on its own or together with formal help. Severity was associated with formal help-seeking. Patterns of informal help use have been found. The use and effectiveness of informal help merit urgent research.

Objectives: Common mental disorders affect high proportions of university students. This systematic review aims to summarize the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for depression and anxiety among university students and provide evidence to improve mental health services. Methods: EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched for eligible papers. Inclusion criteria: (1) published between 1990 and 2021, (2) written in English, (3) had qualitative or quantitative methodology, (4) involved university students, (5) students had depression or anxiety, (6) students were explicitly asked about barriers and facilitators, (7) >60% of study population had mental illness. Results: Ten studies were included into this review. The most common barriers were self-reliance, stigma, and poor mental health literacy. Good mental health literacy and social encouragement were significant facilitators. Conclusions: Universities could encourage help-seeking by targeting stigma and increasing mental health literacy. Future research could explore the role of self-reliance in help-seeking and identify more facilitators.

Men are less likely to seek help for their mental health than women, but less is known about the specific patterns of help-seeking in adolescent boys and young men. This is concerning as adolescent boys and young men have high suicide rates but a low take-up of services. It is therefore of particular importance that the access needs of this group are understood. This review sought to identify the barriers and facilitators faced by adolescent boys and young men in help-seeking for affective mental health disorders. A search of the PubMed, APA PsycInfo, and Cochrane databases identified 3961 articles, of which 12 met the inclusion criteria. Six of the studies were qualitative, five were quantitative and one used mixed methods. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the quality of the articles. Five key themes were identified, including the impact of social norms, with the subthemes of conformity to masculine norms and self-stigma, limited availability of information about mental health, and ‘male-friendly’ mental health literacy campaigns. Other themes referred to the help-seeking preferences of adolescent boys and young men, in terms of informal or formal and online or offline help-seeking. Some of the factors were well-researched (e.g., conformity to masculine norms as a barrier) whereas other factors (e.g., self-compassion as a facilitator) were less researched. These barriers and facilitators need to be considered in the development of future strategies to improve the help-seeking behaviour of adolescent boys and young men.

Background: Males are less likely to seek help for mental health difficulties compared to females. Despite considerable interest, a paucity of evidence-based solutions exists to address this. Concerns about students’ mental health has led to the United Kingdom’s Department of Education to make this a priority. Studies have shown that male students hold more negative attitudes towards the use of psychological services compared to female students and are less likely to seek help. A major concern is that male students make up 69% of university suicides, which is often associated with lower rates of help-seeking. This focus group study therefore sought to identify potential approaches that would be relevant to improving mental health help-seeking in male students. Methods: Three focus groups comprising of 24 male students at a London University were conducted. Participants were asked questions exploring: the barriers to seeking help, what would encourage help-seeking, how an appropriate intervention should be designed, and how to publicise this intervention to male students. Thematic analysis was conducted to evaluate participants responses. Results: Five distinct themes were identified. These were: 1) protecting male vulnerability, 2) providing a masculine narrative of help-seeking, 3) differences over intervention format, 4) difficulty knowing when and how to seek help, and 5) strategies to sensitively engage male students. Conclusions: These themes represent important considerations that can be used, together with the existing literature about male help-seeking, to develop more male friendly interventions that are suitable for male students. This could help improve help-seeking attitudes and the uptake of mental health interventions for male students experiencing emotional distress.