Luis Joaquín García and David Jiménez presented the results obtained with this project for the promotion of mental health in adolescents.
The PROCARE initiative was present at the conference ‘Actions in favor of mental health in young people: where are we going?’, organized by the Department of Psychology of the University of Jaén, the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the UJA, and the PROEM Network.
The professor of the University of Jaén (UJA), Luis Joaquín García and the UJA researcher David Jiménez highlighted that the PROCARE project is the first randomized controlled study for selective prevention in adolescents from a transdiagnostic, group and online approach. They also highlighted the main results obtained after helping to promote the mental health of more than 1,500 schoolchildren and their families: reducing anxious and depressive symptoms in adolescents, as well as reducing the risk of future emotional problems and increasing resilience and flexibility, with a high acceptability by adolescents and a low dropout rate.
The conference was inaugurated by Ana García León, Director of the Secretariat of Sustainable and Healthy University of the UJA, Mª José Justicia, Vice-Dean of Psychology of the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences, Rafael Martos, Director of the Department of Psychology of the UJA and Professor Lourdes Espinosa, professor of the UJA, member of the PROEM Network and coordinator of the conference.
In addition to PROCARE, this meeting addressed various topics such as: psychological support received at UJA (Psicoapoyo) in times of pandemic, by researcher José Antonio Muela; the podcast as a tool for mental health literacy, by podcaster Juan Pablo Molina; cinema as a tool to break down stigmas, by director Santiago Requejo; and the influence of mental health in social networks, by influencer Borja Pavón.
Finally, the conference concluded with a round-table discussion with the participation of teachers and counselors from educational centers Eva Mª Gámez (IES Auringis), Francisca Benítez (Colegio Andrés de Vandelvira) and Beatriz García (Accompanying Units), and two young people, Dolores Santiago (Psychology student at UJA), and Estefanía Calderón (VET student).
