Rachael Mutopo

With so many changes in the way we live, interact with one another and view mental health, this course is designed to cover every aspect of that and help you to understand mental health in our lifetime. It also allows you the freedom to explore areas of mental health that one may have had an interest in, but never had the opportunity to quite delve into.

Rachael is a registered Psychiatric Nurse in Canada and started her ARU journey with a diploma, progressing on to a BSc top-up and now in her final year of her MSc in Mental Health.

I chose to study the MSc in Mental Health because I wanted to increase my knowledge and understanding of current issues in mental health. I was also interested in learning more about research and how it influences the way we practice, benefits our patients, as well as supporting each other as healthcare professionals. I had studied with ARU before when I did my diploma (HE) Mental Health and then BSc top up, so I was familiar with the university.

"This course has helped me to gain an understanding of the challenges and impact of migration on the healthcare system."

Degrees designed to benefit you personally and professionally

Professionally, this qualification will provide me with the confidence to seek more opportunities that focus on service improvement for patients and support for staff.  I am hoping that through this qualification, I can contribute to research programmes that will hopefully influence policies and procedures in health care.


Compelling content to compliment your career

I have an interest in perinatal mental health services and this course has helped me to explore current issues and challenges faced by both health care providers and recipients of care.  What I enjoyed most about this subject area was that I could expand on the subject matter and explore perinatal mental health services particularly for migrant women.  I live in British Columbia Canada which welcomes migrants from different countries annually just like the UK.  This course has helped me to gain an understanding of the challenges and impact of migration on the healthcare system.  


Designed with your interests in mind

The skills and knowledge have been valuable. I am aware that I now look at situations on the wards differently because I am applying my critical thinking skills more and referring to what I learned. One of the modules covered in this course was on culture and mental health. I chose to study the culture of the Inuit people of Canada and unravelled aspects of this culture that I would not have done if I had not taken this course.   I feel that now I know more about how the Inuit culture views mental health and its treatment and this knowledge helps me to plan appropriate care for this group of people. 


Top tips for students

I would recommend making a timetable and dedicate so many hours to studying and so many hours to family time. Also letting family know beforehand about the course and what's expected of your time would help prepare them for it. If you’re able to take some study days at work this would be most beneficial, but I was not fortunate to get any, so I dedicated days off to study.

I would say go for it, you will enjoy the learning, support and interaction with other students and tutors.


Why ARU?

I would recommend this course to others because it covers contemporary issues in mental health.  With so many changes in the way we live, interact with one another and view mental health, this course is designed to cover every aspect of that and help you to understand mental health in our lifetime. It also allows you the freedom to explore areas of mental health that one may have had an interest in but never had the opportunity to quite delve into it.

The online teaching enabled interaction between students and staff. The content was relevant to the course and well-paced. Tutors were always available to answer any questions posted or to clarify anything that was not understood.

I found the staff immensely helpful and supportive. If I felt like I was not sure of what I was doing, I felt confident to email for support and the response time was prompt.

It was a time of great learning, fun, interesting and certainly a time of change in my view of mental health in the world we live in today.  Each module provided an opportunity to learn something new, put it into practice, reflect on it and see the positive results.



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Supporting your journey

All ARU staff from my experience and perspective were amazing. My course leader and my final project coordinator were both very motivational, supportive and inspiring.

Meet Tara

Supporting your journey

All ARU staff from my experience and perspective were amazing. My course leader and my final project coordinator were both very motivational, supportive and inspiring.

Meet Brandon