A study into how mental health problems can affect students, and what support services they need from staff while at university, will be explored through interviews conducted by CQUniversity.

The joint research project between CQUniversity and Curtin University hopes to improve university experiences for students who are identified as managing a mental health problem.

As one of the six phases of the project, interviews will be conducted with university staff who are working with students who may be experiencing a mental health problem.

Once data is gathered, researchers hope to formulate interventions that can be implemented to further improve the university experience for students.

CQUniversity's mental health experts Professors Margaret McAllister and Brenda Happell have been involved in combatting stigma of mental disorders, and in empowering consumers for many years, and are world leaders in mental health nursing.  

"University can be a very stressful time in any person's life, and most particularly for young people, who are in the throes of numerous life transitions - some may have left home for the first time, be having to balance study, work as well as friendship groups," Professor McAllister said.

"When you are also managing a mental health problem, stressors can easily mount.

"University professional and academic staff may be familiar with dealing with students' stress, but dealing also with students struggling with mental health issues is a specialised skill. These staff may have lots of wisdom gained from experience with working with such students.

"On the other hand, staff may also be struggling. This is why this study is important. Deeper understanding of the support needs of both students and staff are needed, and will be of interest to university communities all over Australia and the world," Professor McAllister said.

"We believe this research is important to identify how staff education and university services can be improved to maximise the students' potential to complete their university program."

The research is expected to take six months and results should be available in January 2014.

CQUniversity is recognised by the SciVal organisation as the Number 1 institution in the world for Mental Health Nursing Research, based on articles published of relevance.

There are currently a number of postgraduate mental health nursing programs available to study mid-year either by distance education or on campus. Visit www.cqu.edu.au/explore to find out more.