Luis Joaquín García, Professor of the University of Jaén and main responsible of PROCARE, presented the results of the intervention to part of the technical team of the Conselleria d’Educació i Formació Professional.
24/12/2021.- The PROCARE initiative, which provides free help to schoolchildren at risk of suffering emotional problems, has contributed to the promotion of mental health and emotional well-being of a total of 23 young people between 12 and 18 years of age and their families, who have participated in the intervention in recent months in the Balearic Islands.
This is confirmed by data from the action carried out by experts from the PROEM Network, led by the University of Jaén (UJA), through the first selective prevention program aimed at young people aged between 12 and 18 at risk of suffering emotional problems in the current stage of psychosocial difficulties marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 112 families and their adolescent children have participated in some of the phases of the project, with 23 families benefiting from the intervention. The results of the intervention indicate the reduction of emotional problems, the improvement of subjective quality of life and a greater regulation of emotions among the young participants.
The professor of the UJA and main responsible of the PROEM Network, Luis Joaquín García and the professor of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili Josefa Canals presented the results of the PROCARE initiative in the Balearic Islands to representatives of the Conselleria d’Educació i Formació Professional. Specifically, in the meeting held telematically, participated Aina Amengual as Director of the Institut per a la Convivència i l’èxit Escolar, Amanda Fernández, as Director of the Direcció general de Primera Infància, Innovació i Comunitat Educativa, and Catherina Adrover as Technical Teaching Advisor.
Luis Joaquín García pointed out the “outstanding involvement of the work team of the Conselleria d’Educació i Formació Professional and, specifically of the Institut per a la Convivència i l’èxit Escolar, for its dissemination of this initiative in several Balearic schools, thanks to which more than twenty young people and their families have been able to benefit from PROCARE, an emotional vaccine to strengthen young people in times of crisis and change”. She also explained some of the key issues related to the prevention of youth suicide and explained her work as a member of the advisory committee of the Spain 2050 Strategy.
For her part, Amanda Fernández expressed the desire “to maintain support for literacy in health and emotional wellbeing for young Balearic youth, with the aim of providing the school community with resources for early detection and intervention of adolescents with, or at risk of suffering, emotional problems from the framework of prevention”. Meanwhile, Aina Amengual expressed “the satisfaction conveyed by the participating families with the effectiveness of the intervention”, and emphasized “the interest of the Balearic entity in continuing to collaborate with future initiatives that are launched from PROCARE in the field of promoting mental health and emotional well-being of young people¸ considering providing financial support to future editions of PROCARE to contribute to the emotional strengthening of young Balearic in these times of uncertainty and change”.
Luis Joaquín García thanked the commitment of the Institut per a la Convivència i l’èxit Escolar and the Direcció general de Primera Infància, Innovació i Comunitat Educativa in the defense of the health and emotional wellbeing of young Balearic youth during this pandemic and its aftermath. “It is crucial that any vulnerable young person who may be at risk of emotional difficulties can receive the support they need to prevent negative consequences in their personal and professional development,” said Luis Joaquín García. “There is no health without mental health and there is no future without emotionally healthy young people. A resilient society needs resilient citizens”.
The PROCARE initiative is a nationwide project with professionals from the Psychology Department of the UJA, the Rovira i Virgili University, the Miguel Hernández University of Elche and the University of Miami (USA). In addition, the Youth Institute (INJUVE) of the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, the Spanish Association of Mutual Help against Social Phobia and Anxiety Disorders (AMTAES), the Confederation of Organizations of Psychopedagogy and Guidance of Spain (COPOE), the FELGTBI+ Youth group of the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals (FELGTB) and the Youth Council of Spain (CJE) are part of the project’s External Advisory Council.
