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Mental health in the field

Nature Geoscience volume 11, pages 618–620 (2018)Cite this article

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Field work is an important and valued part of geoscience research, but can also serve as a source of stress. Careful planning can help support the mental health and wellness of participants at all career stages.

The satirical poet Juvenal (ad 55–140) wrote: “Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano”, “A man should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body”1. Field work and field courses are central to geosciences, and typically require the corpore sano (healthy body)2,3. Health, safety and environmental practices have improved to better protect the geologist’s body from harm4. But what about the mens sana, the need for a healthy mind to be able to cope with the mental strain of field work? Mental health in academia is taking central stage because of the realization that poor mental health adversely impacts our student population5. But the potential positive and negative impacts of field work on mental health remain less well explored.

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Fig. 1: Pyramidal representation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Fig. 2: Schematic overview of mental health stressors during field work.

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Acknowledgements

C.M.J. acknowledges the support and contributions of the Imperial College Mental Health Advisory Team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Imperial College London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, London, UK

    Cédric Michaël John

  2. City University London, Department of Psychology, London, UK

    Saira Bano Khan

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  1. Cédric Michaël John
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  2. Saira Bano Khan
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Correspondence to Cédric Michaël John.

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John, C.M., Khan, S.B. Mental health in the field. Nature Geosci 11, 618–620 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0219-0

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