From October 9 to 12, numerous researchers in the field of psychology, legislators and young people have participated in one of the seminars of this event held in Gijón.
14/10/2021.- The Interdisciplinary Research Network for the Promotion of Mental Health and Emotional Well-being in Young People (PROEM) has organized one of the seminars of the International Youth Meetings of Cabueñes held in Gijón from October 4 to 12.
Specifically, the main head of the PROEM Network and professor at the University of Jaén, Luis Joaquín García, coordinated the seminar entitled ‘Addressing the emotional health and well-being of young people in the post-pandemic era’. “Emotional problems are the most underdetected and undertreated in young people. Without that early detection, there is no chance for adolescents to access science-based interventions. Added to this is the pandemic generated by COVID-19, which also encompasses multiple aspects of emotional health and well-being. Thus, for four days, we have focused on the impact of the pandemic and on specific actions to provide emotional support to young people at this time and to face the possible aftermath in the coming months,” said Luis Joaquín García.
The seminar began on Saturday, October 9 with the presentation of data on the situation in the field of health and emotional well-being of young people, paying special attention to the situation during and after the pandemic. First, Luis Joaquín García gave the inaugural talk “Where are we and where are we going in the promotion of health and emotional well-being of young people after the pandemic? Concrete cases of the PROCARE and DAREMOS initiatives and NLPs to help young people in the era of the coronavirus”.
Subsequently, researchers from the PROEM Network, Mar Díaz, David Jiménez, María Rivera, Paula Morales, Eva Mª Parras and Manuel Vivas presented data on the effectiveness, efficiency and acceptability of specific interventions aimed at helping adolescents emotionally, such as the PROCARE program, which aims to identify early on the emotional problems of young people at risk of suffering them.
On Sunday, October 10, presentations were given by José Antonio Muela and Lourdes Espinosa, professors at the University of Jaén and members of the PROEM Network. Both presented innovative mental health literacy resources aimed at adolescents and families, as well as the data collected in two research studies on the effect of the pandemic on the mental health of young people: DAREMOS and E-proemocion.
The module scheduled for Monday, October 11, dealt with early actions for the promotion of health and emotional well-being. The professor of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, José Antonio Piqueras, and the professor of Psychology of the Rovira i Virgili University, Josefa Canals, reviewed some of the evidence-based actions implemented at national and international level, differentiating by age groups and by levels of prevention and universal, selective and indicated promotion. They also debated the limitations of the actions carried out so far and discussed future lines of action to improve promotion actions.
Finally, the seminar closed on October 12 with two activities. The first of these was the round table ‘Listening to the experiences of young people during the pandemic: How has it affected them and what do they need to become resilient adults’. The speakers were Luis Joaquín García, José Antonio Peñalver, a doctor specializing in Psychiatry and Member of the Regional Assembly of Murcia; Javier Guardiola, Secretary General of the Socialist Youth of Madrid and Member of the Regional Assembly of Madrid; Andrés Villa, instagramer on mental health and Councilor in the City Council of Collado Villalba; and Beatriz Sánchez, a young Asturian member of the Exilio group.
The second was the presentation ‘Promoting well-being, resilience and emotional care of young people’, by Ana Sainero, coordinator of the therapeutic intervention service of the Asturian Association for the Attention and Care of Children (ASACI), who presented a comprehensive proposal for intervention in this area.
The seminar has had a significant impact on social networks and media, being the coordinator of the seminar, Luis Joaquón García interviewed in various regional media such as Radio Televisión Pública Asturiana and the newspapers La Nueva España and El Comercio.
