Reflecting on my MSc

During the pandemic I undertook my masters degree. I graduated late 2021 with an MSc in Psychological well-being and mental health. During my time studying I developed my research interests and knowledge so much. I took so much from my degree and built on all the skills I had developed during my undergraduate degree.

During my masters I worked alongside a self-harm and suicide organisation to improve access to there services for ethnic minorities. This was particularly interesting to me as it involved trying to break down the mental health stigma and distrust in mental health services, two areas I feel are extremely important. Due to covid this ended with a virtual conference sharing findings with colleagues and organisations in how to improve their services and best practice.

My dissertation involved research around nature engagement and well-being, focussing on activities undertaken during the pandemic and how these have impacted mental health and well-being. This was done using diary studies and self reflection techniques. I’ve included the abstract for my dissertation below:

”The role of nature in providing wellbeing and mental health benefits has been increasingly researched in recent years. However, the experiences people have in natural environments and how these impact wellbeing have been rarely visited in an in-depth way. This research aimed to explore these experiences and benefits, 23 people (7 males, 16 females, aged 22-77), who identified themselves as spending regular time in natural environments participated in a week-long diary study and four participated in follow-up interviews (3 males, 1 female), to explore their diary entries further. Through polytextual thematic analysis, the findings suggest that individuals place significant importance on their nature experiences having a purpose. Place attachment and an emotional connection were also present in most nature experiences and these helped provide therapeutic benefits including improved wellbeing and mental health from regular access to nature. The diary study method in itself was found to be a therapeutic tool for many and helped deepen connection with nature, increase access to nature and allow for an outlet to express feelings and improve wellbeing. These findings highlight the importance of spending regular time in natural environments and the positive effects this has on wellbeing and suggest that spending time in nature could provide a useful source of mental health benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Completing the masters during covid was challenging due to everything being online. However it was also exciting to be a part of the course and developing my skills, getting closer to my dream career and my life goals. I realised how much I loved learning and researching and how much of a positive impact this had on me. Spending nights researching and reading through academic papers interested me so much and it was an amazing experience.