BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology for Clinical Settings
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1565943
This article is part of the Research TopicPublic Health Strategies to Improve Mental Health in the Education Sector: Perspectives and ApplicationsView all 16 articles
Seeking Support or Avoiding It? A Qualitative Study of Professional Psychological Help Perceptions Among University Students in Honduras
Provisionally accepted
Estyben RiveraCesar Barahona - AguilarGamariela CuevasFlor Orellana - MorenoIrma Corrales
Raquel Mejia Sanchez
Eddy Paz - Maldonado
Miguel Landa-Blanco*- National Autonomous University of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
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University students face significant mental health challenges exacerbated by barriers such as stigma, financial constraints, and limited services. This study examined barriers to seeking psychological help among 23 students from the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). Participants were recruited through social media, snowball sampling, and campus visits. Using semistructured interviews, the research explored attitudes, barriers, and perceptions regarding professional psychological help. Interview guides were expert-validated and pilot-tested. Thematic analysis, conducted from a constructivist perspective, identified four themes: motivators, psychotherapy sources, barriers, and facilitators. Findings revealed that while stigma and financial constraints hinder help-seeking, motivators like personal growth and social influences encourage it. The study highlighted the need for accessible mental health services in university settings to address academic and social pressures. Strengthening these services is essential to fostering a supportive environment that promotes student well-being and psychological resilience.
Keywords: Mental Health, university students, Barriers to psychological help, psychological support, Psychotherapy, help seeking
Received: 24 Jan 2025; Accepted: 23 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rivera, Barahona - Aguilar, Cuevas, Orellana - Moreno, Corrales, Mejia Sanchez, Paz - Maldonado and Landa-Blanco. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Miguel Landa-Blanco, National Autonomous University of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
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