Abstract
Psychological help-seeking is one of the fundamental first steps towards the process of gaining
support for mental health problems. Developing understanding of the decisions and attitudes
about seeking psychological help can provide clinicians, researchers, and services with an
important insight into how they can promote engagement and reduce delays in providing
treatment to those who need it.
Part one of this portfolio describes a systematic literature review that explored the facilitators
and barriers to psychological help-seeking within professional athletes. A total of 6 studies met
inclusion criteria for this review, highlighting the sparsity of literature within this area. A
thematic synthesis highlighted global barrier and facilitator themes, with athletes reporting
stigma, mental health literacy, a lack of support, and a lack of trust as preventing help-seeking.
Facilitators focussed on positive experiences, role models, and having different resources.
Part two of this portfolio presents an empirical paper that used a cross-sectional mixed methods
questionnaire to explore wellbeing, mental health literacy, and attitudes towards mental health
and psychological help-seeking within a pre-professional ballet student population. A total of
71 pre-professional ballet students completed the questionnaire. Students presented with a high
prevalence of perceived stress, but generally good wellbeing. They demonstrated good mental
health literacy, but almost half of the students said it was unlikely they would seek help from
a mental health professional. Busy schedules, school demands, and stigma were reported as
making it difficult for students to prioritise their mental wellbeing and seek support.