Members of the network and the University of Jaen’s research group El_CTS3 have presented the advances of their report for improving psychological assessment and promoting mental health and emotional well-being in young people.
06/06/2018.- This morning, several members of the Interdisciplinary Network for the PROmotion of Mental Health and EMotional Well-being in the Young (PROEM) had a working meeting with the Territorial Delegate for Education of the Government of Andalusia in Jaen, Yolanda Caballero, to present the advances made in the report for improving psychological assessment and promoting mental health and emotional well-being in young people.
This report was developed from an international meeting held at the University of Jaen (UJA) a month and a half ago with the participation of mental health research teams from several universities as well as individuals from the education sector, policy-makers, the young themselves, minority communities, end-users and Yolanda Caballero herself, representing the Delegation, who also participated in drawing up the report through the Provincial Technical Team for Educational and Vocational Guidance (ETPOEP).
At today’s meeting, the network’s main representative, Luis Joaquín García, was joined by José Antonio Muela, director of the UJA EI_CTS3 Research Team, and researchers of the UJA Psychology Department Lourdes Espinosa, Mar Díaz and Pere Castellví.
First, the situation surrounding mental health problems in adolescence and their cost to society was contextualized and the existing needs and gaps in the education sector analyzed. Having presented the current climate, the priorities to address and recommendations to follow in order to improve adolescent mental health were presented.
After hearing the researchers’ explanations, Yolanda Caballero pledged to continue collaborating with the network and to hold upcoming meetings to present the definitive report to the education society and the media as well as implement the proposals put forward by the PROEM network.
This PROEM network 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, the Spanish Society for the Study of Anxiety and Stress, and the State Federation of Lesbian, Gay, Transsexual and Bisexual Individuals.
