Abstract

Academic experiences constitute a poorly discussed and researched subject, which is also truth for the suffering that may go along with such experiences, especially in the psychology courses, as well as the suffering that can accompany them, stemming mainly from contact with the psychic suffering of others or with an academic content more directly related to human subjectivity. This study presents data from a survey whose purpose was to map the academic experiences of psychology students, at a Brazilian public University. A questionnaire containing a question of socio-demographic identification, a set of 20 multiple-choice items (formulated as a Likert scale of five points) and five open questions was used to collect data by 119 students of the five years of the course. The results, after being subject to quantitative and qualitative analysis, allowed to verify, in Likert scale, that the students presented, in general, a favorable perception of the course. However, the open questions relating to experiences and psychological distress presented explicit indicators of university unease. In the last question, that inquired about the experience of psychological distress, 107 of 119 students responded affirmatively. From these data, we discuss the urgent need for action, both by university administrators and by the entities that oversee the training of psychologists.

Higher Education; College Students – Psychology; Mental Health Services; School Counseling