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Peer Support PhD Opportunity.

University: King's College London
Supervisors: Juliet Foster & Nicola Byrom
Charity sector partner: Student Minds
Funding: This is a fully funded opportunity - Fees and stipend are available through the LISS DTP
​A recent large-scale international study identified that 31% of students screened positive for at least one common mental health disorder in the past year (Auerbach et al., 2018). As the number of students reporting mental distress and seeking support from University support services increases, organisations including Universities UK and Student Minds are advocating a settings-based approach, considering mental health across the whole institution. This approach favours grassroots participation (Muntaner et al., 2000): peer support can be conceptualised one such ‘organic’ approach. Bringing together students with similar experiences to share knowledge for mutual benefit is expected to allow people to give and receive help (Mead, Hilton, & Curtis, 2001) and reduce loneliness (Solomon, 2004), building the form of social support that is protective against the development of depression (Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010).
 
This project will evaluate the efficacy of peer support groups for depressive symptoms, comparing outcomes for students who do and do not engage with groups. This is ground-breaking research; while there has been extensive research into the efficacy of interventions focused on the individual student, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, peer support in universities has received minimal attention.
 
The project will use a mixed methods approach. Mental health and wellbeing outcomes will be compared for students who do and do not attend peer support groups. Qualitative research, including interviews and focus groups, will be undertaken to build a deeper understanding of the impact of peer support as an ‘organic’ settings-based approach.
 
As part of their collaboration with the project, Student Minds will offer the holder of the studentship a three-month work placement, to gain an understanding of support and policy activity. The project will link into other relevant work being undertaken by the UKRI funded Student Mental Health Research Network (SMaRteN).

Apply:

To apply, please complete the application form and email to nicola.byrom@kcl.ac.uk
Your email should carry the subject title: LISS DTP Application 
Application deadline: Midnight Sunday 16th February 2020 
Peer Support PhD Application Form.docx
File Size: 126 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Any question? 

Check the FAQ page here. If it doesn't answer your question, please do get in touch - nicola.byrom@kcl.ac.uk
​
(equally, if you'd just like to chat - do get in touch! You ought to be curious about your future supervisor and whether you'd like to work with them!)
faq_for_peer_support_studentship.docx
File Size: 22 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Welcome to the SMaRteN Network! We hope to hear from you soon.

Keep us up to date with your research! We love to showcase members' work and initiatives in student mental health research. 


Email

smarten@kcl.ac.uk
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  • About
    • Contact
    • Leadership
    • Student Media Team
    • Student Team 20/21 >
      • Student Team 19/20
      • Student Team 18/19
    • Mental Health Research Matters
  • Take part
    • Co-Creation Project
    • Groups >
      • Our Virtual Groups
      • Past Sessions
      • Suggest a New Group
    • Participate in Research >
      • Student Mental Health: What Are the Key Questions?
  • Student Podcasts
  • Events
    • Past Events >
      • Tomorrow’s University: the future of student mental health & wellbeing
      • Webinar: “Embedding peer-assisted learning to support student mental health, wellbeing and academic progress”
      • Webinar: “Pathways to success: supporting good transitions into university”
      • Launch Event “Things and the mind”
      • Enhancing Inductions for Postgraduate Students
  • Funding
    • Funded Research 2019
    • Funded Research 2020
    • Funded Research 2021
    • CLOSED: Key Questions Funding Call
  • Interviews
  • Blog
    • Blog Post Guidance
  • Resources
    • Key Questions: Research Priorities for Student Mental Health
    • Student Services Partnerships Evaluation and Quality Standards (SPEQS) Toolkit
    • Measuring Wellbeing in the Student Population
    • COVID 19 Study
    • Review of National Surveys
    • Reading List
    • Newsletter