Table 2 Reasons why Ph.D. students revealed their depression to their faculty advisor

Preventative reveal

Student perceived that depression would impact or was impacting their mood or performance in research and revealed depression preemptively to avoid judgement or conflict.

48%

Student 6: “I had to come clean to [my faculty advisor] a couple of times. If I was coming into the lab less, I would say, ‘Hey advisor, I am struggling with depression right now. I am taking proactive steps to do this, this, and this about it.’”

Student 34: “Hiding [my depression] doesn't help because if I don't mention it then [my faculty advisor] is not going to know why my productivity comes and goes in waves.”

Corrective reveal

Student reports that depression negatively affected their mood or performance in research, which was noticed by others. The student revealed their depression in an attempt to explain their mood or behavior.

41%

Student 12: “We had a lab meeting that was just a rough day for me. [My faculty advisor] emailed me afterwards and said, ‘Hey. You didn't look good today. Are you okay? What's up?’ I decided to just be forthright with her and tell her what was going on [with my depression].”

Student 5: “It was actually after a committee meeting [when I revealed my depression]. I was talking about career stuff and [my faculty advisor] pulled me aside the next day and was just like, ‘Hey, you seem really depressed.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I am.’ And it was a really hard conversation.”

No judgment—understanding

Student perceived that they would not be judged if they revealed because their advisor’s past actions indicated that the advisor is understanding, caring, or has a positive perception of mental health.

22%

Student 3: “My advisor laid out some very clear objectives for herself as our advisor. Part of it wasn't directly stating like, ‘Hey, as your advisor, I want to help you with your mental health,’ but it was, ‘As your advisor, I want to help you as a person.’”

Student 8: “[My faculty advisor] has always been very upfront [about mental health], even before she knew [about my depression]. She was like ‘I always want to be a support system for my graduate students, so if you’re struggling with anything talk to me and I will help you handle that because that’s my job as your advisor.”

No judgment—personal relationship

Student perceived that they would not be judged for revealing because they had developed a close personal relationship with their faculty advisor.

17%

Student 13: “My priority was making sure that [my faculty advisor] was someone that I could become friends with. So, from the get-go I knew that if something happened [with my depression] I could talk to him about it.”

Student 9: “[My faculty advisor] made me feel very comfortable in telling her about things I'm going through [with my depression]. Our friendship really contributed to the fact that I was comfortable with her and that I could reveal to her what I was feeling without fearing that she would judge me.”