The researcher from the University of Jaén participated in this space aimed at Balearic teaching staff to address in a theoretical and practical way the mental health of the educational community.
21/12/2022.- The researcher of the Psychology Department of the University of Jaén (UJA), Lourdes Espinosa, presented the PROCARE initiative at the round table of the ‘I Jornada de Bienestar Emocional: El eje vertebrador del desarrollo personal’, organized by the Instituto por la Convivencia Escolar y el Éxito Educativo (Convivéxit) of the Consejería de Educación y Formación Profesional de las Islas Baleares at the Caixaforum of Palma de Mallorca.
In her speech, Lourdes Espinosa pointed out “the free help provided to around 1,500 schoolchildren at risk of suffering emotional problems and their families through the implementation of PROCARE, an initiative that has contributed significantly to the promotion of mental health and emotional well-being of young people between the ages of 12 and 18 throughout the country”. At the same time, she highlighted that “PROCARE is the first transdiagnostic group prevention initiative at the international level that has demonstrated its effectiveness in the intervention of adolescents at risk of developing emotional problems such as anxiety or depression, under the framework of selective prevention (PROCARE+) and at high risk under the framework of indicated prevention (PROCARE-I)”.
In this sense, the UJA researcher insisted on the need to continue investing from the educational system in this type of projects that emotionally support adolescents, particularly vulnerable population and those living in rural areas. Convivèxit expressed its commitment to firmly support the implementation of such initiatives, supported by the Balearic Government.
Lourdes Espinosa shared a round table with Quim García, member of the Mental Health Office of the Balearic Islands, and with M. Francisca Morell, who is part of the Association of Family and Friends Survivors of Suicide of the Balearic Islands (AFASIB). Likewise, Lourdes Espinosa was one of the speakers of the day with her talk on family communication as a risk or protective factor. Along with her, other experts such as Pablo Rodríguez, L. Fernando López and Rosa Casafont completed the list of speakers of the day.
The conference, coordinated by Convivèxit and aimed at teaching staff, aimed to address in a theoretical and practical way various issues that make possible the health and emotional well-being of students and teachers in their schools. In this way, about 150 Balearic teachers acquired knowledge on topics such as knowledge of the emotional brain, prevention of self-harm in adolescence, or grief management in schools.
The PROCARE initiative is a nationwide project made up of 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).
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 Youth group of the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans, Intersex and more (FELGTBI+) and the Youth Council of Spain (CJE) make up the External Advisory Board of this project.
