Mental health problems and support for trainee psychologists : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
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2023
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Massey University
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Internationally, discussion of graduate student has garnered attention in recent years, with research showing poor mental health outcomes. Among these groups of graduate students, graduate psychology students have also been shown to have poor mental health outcomes in a limited number of conducted studies, and there has been no research to explore the well-being of graduate psychology trainees in Aotearoa New Zealand. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used to investigate well-being and factors that may impede well-being in trainee psychologists in New Zealand that was delivered through an online survey. The survey consisted of measures for depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, alcohol consumption, and substance use. Additional questions were asked regarding demographics, suicidal behaviour, sleep, supervisor relationship and barriers experienced when accessing mental healthcare. Following exclusions there were 122 participants in the final sample. Of the trainee psychologists who participated, 37.7% reported depressive symptoms, 29.5% reported anxiety symptoms, 78.7% reported stress, and 38.6% reported burnout. 33.7% reported hazardous alcohol consumption and 5.7% reported substance abuse. Self-harm was reported by 7.5% of trainee psychologists during their degree with 29.5% experiencing ideation. Participants of an ethnic minority, particularly Māori, reported higher levels of stress and symptoms of anxiety, and LGBTQIA+ students reported higher levels of burnout. Participants also reported significant barriers to mental healthcare. The current study supports that idea that trainee psychologists experience high levels of mental health problems and highlights the need for additional research in this area.