Experience meets empathy: from student to student mental health advisor
Published: 14 March 2018
MSc in Global Mental Health graduate Comfort Kyeremeh describes her experience of combining studying with volunteering, and the career path that then opened up to her
MSc in Global Mental Health graduate Comfort Kyeremeh describes her experience of combining studying with volunteering, and the career path that then opened up to her.
What do you do if you are a registered mental health practitioner with vast experience and yet you feel like you are stuck, and the world is going by you? You enrol on the Global Mental Health (GMH) course at University of Glasgow, which is exactly what I did, as part of the 2017/2018 intake.
This provided me with an opportunity to look at mental health from a global, complex and sociocultural viewpoint. Having experienced the stress, difficulties, and responsibilities that came with being a postgraduate taught (PGT) student also fuelled my humble curiosity in wanting to develop more understanding and empathy towards how higher education students stay on top of academic workload while looking after their mental health.
To explore this curiosity further and as part of my MVLS Graduate Skills Award extracurricular activities, I volunteered as a Peer Support with Glasgow University Positive Minds, a student society focused on providing easily accessible peer-led mental health support on campus. This really challenged me to evaluate and appreciate the intricate student journey and how the sociocultural way of doing things influences concepts of mental health, stress and the manifestation of mental ill-health.
I encourage all students in Institute of Health and Wellbeing to truly explore and make use of the vast academic and developmental opportunities available to them.
This newfound passion and empathy continued to fuel my career choice/path after graduating as I wanted to put my GMH knowledge, nursing experience and skills to use in supporting higher education students’ mental health and wellbeing. As a result, my first job was as a Mental Health Mentor with The University of Edinburgh and I recently commenced a similar role at University of St Andrews as a Mental Health Coordinator. In both roles I work with students from all over the world and endeavour to offer mental health support that is socioculturally sensitive and person-centred. I also take part in an initiative that delivers virtual mental health educational talks/sessions for people all around the world, as part of my zeal to contribute to the awareness/promoting of good mental health and wellbeing for all global citizens.
What I learnt having attended University of Glasgow and completed the GMH course is the:
- world-class teaching/course contents
- encouragement and excellent opportunities on offer from staff at the Institute of Health & Wellbeing (IHW),
- tremendous support from lecturers, career advisors and student societies etc.
So, I will encourage all current and prospective students in Institute of Health and Wellbeing to truly explore and make use of the vast academic and developmental opportunities available to them. I am proud to be an alumnus of IHW and this great university as a whole, and will forever be grateful for the opportunities I was given to be part of something amazing that has helped shaped my career in being a University of Glasgow world changer.
Comfort Kyeremeh
Comfort Kyeremeh is a graduate of University of Glasgow's MSc in Global Mental Health and now works as a mental health coordinator at University of St Andrews.
First published: 14 March 2018