Support Seeking on Campus: A Qualitative Study of the Unique Experiences of Racialized University Students

Despite experiencing greater rates of mental health challenges, racialized postsecondary students are accessing campus-based supports at lower rates than their White peers. As much of the existing research pertaining to racialized students' support-seeking at postsecondary institutions has focused on the barriers to access, little is known about the experiences of racialized students who overcome these barriers and access support. In the present study, the unique experiences of racialized students accessing wellness and mental health supports on a large university campus in Canada were examined. Thirty-one racialized undergraduate students completed semistructured interviews, which were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis with intersectionality as a guiding theoretical framework. Five themes were developed under the overarching theme that "Racialized students navigate a mental health system built without them in mind." This study has implications for creating more inclusive mental health supports on postsecondary campuses.