We spoke with Andy Owusu who is a Mental Health Project Officer and works within Mental Health & Wellbeing at LSBU. He has been involved in a number of amazing projects that benefit the students and black community here at LSBU. Keep reading to find out more about his background and work. 

Andy’s research  
Andy graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology and more recently a MA in Clinical and Mental Health Psychology from London South Bank University.

“My research experiences include conducting an ongoing systematic review with Maudsley Hospital in South London. As a black male in psychology, I have an interest in the black community’s attitudes to mental health and help-seeking behaviours. My MSc thesis ‘A Thematic Analysis of interviews with young black men on perspectives of barriers to help-seeking behaviours in the United Kingdom,’ identified themes to illustrate how the lack of ethnic representation in mental health services is a barrier to the help-seeking behaviours of young black men”.

More about the OfS Black Students Mental Health Project
“This leads me onto my current role as a project manager for the OfS Black Students Mental Health Project at LSBU. In this two-year project, LSBU aims to work with the Black community within the school to document Black students’ perspectives and experiences regarding support services, mental health, education, wellbeing, disability, and culturally competent resources.
 
The purpose of this research is to promote early access to support services, promote good mental health and prevent mental health deterioration. Through the evaluation of our current support services and co-production of new culturally competent resources, the project aims to initiate institutional change which is complementary to other projects currently being done in the school to increase the quality of the student journey, for all students. In the second year of the project, we’ll be running a mentorship scheme set to facilitate relationships that nurture positive mental health practices between students and the support services here at LSBU. 

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be looking for Black students to get involved in the project to help us co-create some new resources, so keep an eye out for more information to come. If you would like to express your interest early or find out more about the project, please email mhproj@lsbu.ac.uk”. 

Upcoming Jobs

The BSMHP will be developing an app for LSBU students. This app focuses on the relationship between student's levels of physical activity and academic attainment. They will need some student models who will be paid for their time. Students will be featured on the app doing regular activities on the LSBU Southwark Campus.

Students will be paid £11.05 an hour. They encourage black students and students of colour to apply but everyone is welcome. Please email Andy directly to declare your interest at: mhproj@lsbu.ac.uk   

More info

To find out more information on the brilliant work Andy has done, check out the links below. We have also featured him on our Instagram, introducing himself and highlighting his work. 

LINKS

BSMHP Spotify

BSMHP Instagram

BSMHP Event