The international and interdisciplinary meeting with researchers and stakeholders will take place on Monday 23 April in the Conference Room (Building A-3) at the University of Jaen
19/04/2018. – The Pro-Emotion-Y (PROEM) network will hold an international and interdisciplinary meeting on Monday 23 April at the University of Jaen. Experts and stakeholders will be able to share experiences for improving psychological assessment and promoting mental health and emotional well-being in young people. It represents a unique initiative in Spain, not only because it addresses an issue that has traditionally been approached in a fragmented way, but because researchers are joined by other groups and organizations giving their own accounts.
PROEM is an interdisciplinary research network led by University of Jaen researcher Luis Joaquín García, member of the UJA EI_CTS3 Research Team, whose director is José Antonio Muela. The university is joined by 13 institutions and groups who work together to conduct research on young people with emotional mental disorders that experience stigma, alienation and discrimination. It is the only Network of Excellence led by the UJA and granted by the Ministry. It also establishes synergies with the international network COST ‘European Network on Individualized Psychotherapy Treatment of Young People with Mental Disorders’,funded by the European Union and whose leading researcher is a representative appointed by the Ministry for the Management Commitee.
The PROEM network’s main objective is to establish and promote initiatives and activities carried out by research groups working in this field, joined by other professionals, stakeholders and youth associations involved in promoting adolescent health and emotional well-being. At this meeting, the PROEM network will bring together specialists in the study of these kinds of situations: psychology researchers, healthcare professionals, community health experts and guidance groups. The opinions of the young themselves, policy-makers and end-user assocations will also be heard. Entrance is free until seating capacity is reached.
The meeting will be inaugurated by Luis Joaquín García, accompanied by María Dolores Escarabajal, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences at the University of Jaen, and Yolanda Caballero, Territorial Delegate for Education attached to the Government of Andalusia.
Subsequently, two round tables will take place. The first, moderated by UJA researcher Lourdes Espinosa, will address the current situation in this field. Participants will include José Antonio Piqueras, lecturer for the Department of Health Psychology at the Miguel Hernández University; Antonio Cano, President of the Spanish Society for the Study of Anxiety and Stress (SEAS) and Professor of Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid; Miguel Ángel Carrasco, lecturer of the Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment at the UNED Faculty of Psychology; and Ana Cobos, President of the Confederation of Psychopedagogy and Counseling Organizations in Spain (COPOE). The second, moderated by José Antonio Muela, will reflect on the challenges faced when it comes to preventing, diagnosing and treating these kinds of emotional problems and promoting emotional well-being. Participants will include Inmaculada Gómez, Professor of Psychology at the University of Almeria; Juan Antonio Moriana, lecturer of Psychology at the University of Cordoba; Rocío Casañas, from the Barcelona Mental Health CMH Group; and Enrique Vargas, President of the Spanish Association for Mutual Assistance against Social Phobia and Anxiety Disorders (AMTAES).
María do Céu Salvador, lecturer of Psychology at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), will close the meeting with her talk entitled “The Contribution of Third Generation Therapies for Promoting Mental Health and Well-being in Adolescents: Mindfulness, Acceptance and Compassion”.
The aim of the meeting is to discuss and share the different perspectives and points of views regarding the promotion of adolescent health and emotional well-being voiced by the actors involved. As a result, the researchers will work towards drawing up a working paper that serves as a road map to describe the current situation and possible recommendations that can be sent to stakeholders and policy-makers, thus allowing us to establish health and mental well-being policies aimed at young people.
This initiative began in 2016 and is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, the State Research Agency (AEI), and ERDF funds. UJA researchers are joined by national and international researchers specializing in mental health and other areas belonging to institutions including the University of Cordoba, the University of the Basque Country, the Miguel Hernández University, the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Rovira i Virgili University, the University of Almeria, the UNED Spanish National University of Distance Education, the University of Deusto, and the University of Coimbra (Portugal). They are joined by professionals from clinical and community health institutions like the Les Corts Mental Health Centre Association; guidance groups such as the Confederation of Psychopedagogy and Counseling Organizations in Spain; and user groups and communities including the Spanish Association for Mutual Assistance against Social Phobia and Anxiety Disorders and the Spanish Society for the Study of Anxiety and Stress.
