Stress, anxiety, and depression in psychology graduate student trainees and licensed psychologists: A scoping review.

Abstract

It is an ethical imperative that psychology graduate student trainees (GSTs) and licensed psychologists (LPs) attend to their own mental health and well-being (Wise et al., 2012). The purpose of this scoping review was to provide an up-to-date review of the literature regarding mental health symptoms and barriers experienced by GSTs and LPs when seeking their own mental health treatment. Three electronic databases were used to conduct the literature search up to August 23, 2022 (ProQuest, EBSCO, and Google Scholar). A total of 18 peer-reviewed, published articles satisfied the inclusion criteria, and the data from these studies was charted. Findings indicate that little research has examined the mental health and treatment barriers experienced by GSTs and LPs. Key findings are identified, and recommendations for future research are discussed. Practical strategies, including what can be done by clinicians and decision-makers working within mental health systems, are recommended. Overall, it is necessary that a variety of systemic changes are made to make mental health treatment more relevant and accessible to GSTs and LPs, particularly for those from minoritized groups.