UCL Psychology MSci student projects
A University College London blog
Ever noticed how a bad back can make even the sunniest of days feel cloudy? Ever wondered why your favourite footballer is out for longer for the same injury that someone else had? If you’ve answered yes, tread forward into Continue reading Into the Mindfield: Treading Across Mental Health in Physical Healthcare
<999 words, 5-minute read> Unlike how psychotic disorders are depicted in the media, there is not just hearing voices and paranoia. The stories patients tell are often fundamentally different. To treat this complex disorder, we need to listen to their Continue reading Taking the ‘Psycho’ out of Psychosis – Towards a Better Understanding of Co-occurring Hallucinations and Delusions
[969 words, 4-5 minute read] Do you recall ever wanting to lie around all day doing nothing? Have you ever felt so unmotivated or uninterested in life that you began questioning your life purpose? Answered ‘yes’ to any of Continue reading Coming Across as Blue and Coming up with Options for Things to Do: Is Apathy Associated with the Ability to Generate Options for Behavioural Action?
(999 words, 5-minute read) Think about your interactions with neurodiverse friends. Do you treat them differently compared to others? Are you more sensitive to their unique needs? Well, we would expect mental health services to meet these needs, but worryingly Continue reading Neurodiversity: Should We Really Treat Mental Health Difficulties the Same Between Autistic and Non-Autistic Children?
Picture this: one moment, you’re cruising through life; the next, you’re face-to-face with a spinal cord injury (SCI). It’s sudden. It’s unexpected. It’s like life threw you a curveball without warning. But fear not, because there is a secret to Continue reading Mind Over Matter: The Power of Appraisals in Spinal Cord Injury Recovery
“There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.” – Jimmy Neil Smith. I wanted to start with a story that inspired my own research on ethnicity and mental health. Since I was a child, my grandparents shared stories of Continue reading Inspiring equality: the impact of ethnicity on accessing psychological support for families with chronic health conditions
“[Physical activity] is a real support to me whilst I am contending with depression and trying to emerge from it.” Have you ever gone on a walk and felt like all your problems have disappeared? There is some science to Continue reading Physical Activity – A New Form of Treatment for Mental Health Conditions?
“They are looking at us to be bricks, because their cement is crumbling…” Eating Disorders (EDs) are disabling mental health conditions that not only affect an individual, but also those around them. Just like this quote describes: parents who play an Continue reading “Empowering carers is absolutely vital”: the importance of supporting parents of children and young people with eating disorders
There is no doubt that having ways to cope with depression and anxiety is important for recovery, but does having good (or bad) ways of coping (i.e. coping mechanisms) at the beginning of therapy help patients improve? Based on my Continue reading Your coping mechanisms are unlikely to matter before your low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
“I feel pressure”. “I feel lost”. “I feel like the world is changing”. When a patient is referred to the NHS for treatment of psychosis, it becomes protocol to slap on a diagnosis: Acute psychotic disorder (F23). But what does Continue reading Psychotic Disorders: The Plurality of Lived Experience and How to Target Intervention Programmes