Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0992-3050
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
12-15-2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Beth Boyd
Abstract
In general, graduate students experience unhealthy stress levels throughout their graduate careers. Clinical psychology doctoral students experience additional stressors related to intensive training in providing psychological-related services to clients. There is a gap in the literature in understanding how clinical psychology doctoral students with a personal history of mental health effectively navigate highly stressful graduate programs. This dissertation explored the experiences of clinical psychology Ph.D. students who 1) have a history of mental health diagnoses and 2) experience current psychological distress as they manage educational/training demands and administer psychological interventions to clients. A phenomenological qualitative approach was utilized to fully capture the essence of participants’ lived experiences. Data for the study was collected through individual semi-structured interviews. Transcriptions of the interviews underwent a rigorous coding process to determine the study results. Findings were delivered as overall themes that described the participants' lived experiences. There were five overall themes: Heavy Emotional Experiences, Advisor/Mentor, Disclosure, Unique Relationships with Psychotherapy, and Resiliency. Recommendations for interventions and strategies to support this population are discussed.
Keywords
clinical psychology, clinical psychology graduate students, graduate students, mental health, psychopathology
Number of Pages
152
Publisher
University Of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Flanery, Hannah, "A Qualitative Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Graduate Students With Histories Of Mental Health Diagnoses Navigating Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs" (2023). Dissertations and Theses. 197.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/197