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Emily Taggart

BSc (Hons) Child & Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental Health student Emily

As talking about mental health becomes more and more accepted, the skills you learn on this course are going to be in demand for a whole range of jobs in the future.

I had no idea that a specific course in Mental Health even existed. I didn’t have a particular course in mind when I came to the Edge Hill open day. I’d developed an interest in mental health from studying Psychology and Sociology at GCSE and A Level, so I knew I wanted to do a degree in that area.

I really like that holistic approach to mental health. I’d really enjoyed learning about all the different factors that can affect people’s mental health. So, when I found out that this course covered the social, psychological and environmental aspects of mental health, as well as the biological, choosing Edge Hill was a no brainer.

The course has really opened my mind to different ways of looking at things. I really enjoyed studying the impact of social media on mental health in first year. Even as someone who has grown up with it, I was shocked to read the statistics about children’s use of social media, how young they start and the impact it can have.

It was interesting to hear all the different viewpoints. Social media generally has negative connotations so it was fascinating to learn about the positive ways that it can support mental health as well, particularly in young people.

I was pleased – and a bit nervous – to get a placement with a youth group in Wigan in my second year. I’d never had the opportunity to work with children before I came to university. I worked with children with a range of abilities who were struggling with anxiety and depression. I really enjoyed getting them to engage with me and helping them find coping strategies. It was hard at first but I had lots of support from my placement mentor who helped me tailor my communication to suit each individual child.

I was very homesick to start with but I’ve actually thrived at university. I’m a bit of a homebird, so moving away was quite difficult for me. I was quite shy at college but I’ve discovered that I’m way more outgoing than I ever thought.

I’ve got much more confidence in my abilities and I have a real passion for my subject. I really want to explore it further so that I can help people in the future.