The Department of Psychology, together with the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the University of Jaén (UJA) and the PROEM Network, held the Conference ‘Actions for Mental Health in Young People: Where are we going?
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.
The meeting began with a presentation by UJA professor, José Antonio Muela, on the psycho-support service carried out by the Psychology Office of the UJA in times of pandemic. Throughout his presentation, José Antonio Muela focused on the keys to this successful initiative for the staff and students of the university.
Next, UJA professor Luis Joaquín García and researcher David Jiménez presented the work carried out in the PROCARE project. Specifically, they focused on the results obtained thanks to an initiative that contributed to promote mental health in a particularly vulnerable adolescent population, helping more than 1,500 schoolchildren and their families nationwide.
Later, the role of the podcast as a mental health literacy tool was discussed. The presentation was given by the podcaster and UJA researcher, Juan Pablo Molina, who explained the process of elaboration and diffusion of the sound fiction documentary, ‘Miedo a diario’.
Afterwards, it was the turn of film director Santiago Requejo, who presented his short film ‘Votemos’, nominated for the Goya awards. After the screening of the film, the filmmaker reflected on the role of cinema in breaking down stigmas and its contribution to the dissemination of issues such as mental health in young people.
Next, the influencer and content creator Borja Pavón delved into the role of mental health in social networks. He also valued video games as a tool to be taken into account as an aid to try to overcome emotional problems, such as depression.
Finally, the conference concluded with a round-table discussion with the participation of teachers and counselors of 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 of the UJA), and Estefanía Calderón (FP student).
