The researcher of the University of Jaén (UJA) Manuel Vivas met with Aurora Galán and Natalia Simón, co-directors of the Expert Course in Youth Technician of the University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), to get their perspective on these two projects.
1/03/2024.- The Network for the PROmotion of adolescent health and EMOtional well-being (PROEMO) and researchers from the University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM) met to discuss the next phase of the development of materials for the project ‘PROmocionAnDo la salud y el bienestar EMOcional de los adolescentes en el sector educativo, sanitario y la sociedad’ (PROADEMO) and PROEMO’s roadmap to 2025.
Manuel Vivas, researcher at the University of Jaén (UJA), and Aurora Galán and Natalia Simón, co-directors of the Expert Course in Youth Technician of the University of Castilla La Mancha addressed in this telematic meeting possible synergies and their contributions to these two projects for the promotion of health and emotional well-being of young people.
On the design and development of the digital training package and the set of practical tools, aimed at school staff, health personnel and youth workers, as well as for the preparation of the emotional support kit for adolescents, the UCLM researchers pointed out the importance of including language and social skills, taking into account the context of any student before addressing any procedure, as well as empathizing with the inequalities at the economic or geographical level of adolescents.
Aurora Galán and Natalia Simón also emphasized the need for the toolkit to be cognitively accessible, with understandable language and a social vision. As for the format, they pointed to a very visual format that is flexible and adaptable as far as possible to the language used by adolescents and that includes concrete testimonies of experiences that young people have had.
PROADEMO (PDC2022-133401-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the State Research Agency and the European Union, through the “Next Generation EU” funds within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Its objective is to improve the skills of professionals and young people themselves to contribute to providing quality mental health services to adolescents at risk of developing emotional problems.
Regarding the shortcomings detected in the PROEMO roadmap, the UCLM researchers highlighted the disconnection between disciplines, the lack of time and involvement of professionals and the deficit in emotional management and communication suffered by adolescents. In this sense, they valued as priorities the inclusion of young people in the process, to make them participate and become agents of change in the model.
For its part, PROEMO is a research network (RED2022-134247-T) funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency, through the State Program to promote scientific-technical research and its transfer, within the framework of the State Plan for Scientific, Technical and Innovation Research 2021-2023.
The External Advisory Board of PROADEMO and the PROEMO Network is made up of entities such as the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE), attached to the Ministry of Youth and Children, the Spanish Youth Council (CJE), the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA), the Princess of Girona Foundation (FPdGi), the Integral Health group of the FELGTBI+, 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 Andalusian Association of Youth Technicians (AATJ) and the Asturian Association for the attention and care of children.
