The perception of mental health in a psychology student: autobiographical narrative

Abstract

Studying psychology is a psychically mobilizing experience. The formative process places students, most of them, still adolescents, or young people, early exposed to academic contents directly linked to human subjectivity and to practical scenarios that involve encountering the pain and anguish of existing and living in society. Consequently, the student is exposed to situations that may affect their mental health and trigger psychological distress. The present study is an autobiographical narrative guided by cartography that has the primary outcome of reporting the academic experience of a university student and the impact of this journey on her mental health. The use of cartography allows writing to be used as a strategy of self-development to promote self-awareness by enabling the subjective study of the being. Herein, this study analyzes the effect of the academic exposure on the student's professional formation and identity construction. In this context, it is paramount to ensure self-care, open communication environments and development of coping strategies to assist on the students suffering during the process of training in psychology.