The UJA professor and main leader of the PROEMO Network addressed the current situation of the health and emotional well-being of young people and successful initiatives like PROCARE and PROADEMO
18/09/2024 – Luis Joaquín García, Professor of Psychology at the University of Jaén (UJA) and main leader of the PROEMO Network, delivered the inaugural lecture for the online Expert and Advanced University Training Course “Youth Technician – Society, Health, and Emotional Well-being” at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM).
Luis Joaquín García participated in the inaugural event alongside the Dean of the Faculty of Labor Relations and Sociology at UCLM, Aurora Galán, and the Dean of the College of Political and Social Sciences at UCLM, Natalia Simón, both co-directors of the course. Other notable participants included Margarita Guerrero, General Director of the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE); Carlos Alberto Yuste, General Director of Youth and Sports at the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha; Ignacio Redondo, Regional Deputy Coordinator of Mental Health; and Yuxa Elvira Maya, Professor of Psychology at UCLM.
In his lecture, Luis Joaquín García outlined the current state of the health and emotional well-being of young people and presented the main achievements of the PROEMO Network team since 2018, as reflected in the “Report and Roadmap on the Current State, Needs, and Recommendations for Improving Psychological Assessment and Promoting the Health and Emotional Well-being of Young People.” This roadmap will be updated by the PROEMO Network by 2025. Additionally, García discussed some of the projects promoting adolescent health and emotional well-being, such as PROCARE, PROADEMO, DIGITAS, DAREMOS, and Level Up, all of which are led by the PROEMO Network.
Specifically, García delved into the key aspects of PROCARE, the first international transdiagnostic program for selective prevention aimed at young people aged 12 to 18 at risk of emotional problems. This initiative helped more than 1,500 adolescents across Spain in 2021, improved the emotional health of over a thousand young people in the Balearic Islands in 2023, and is currently being implemented in the town of Marmolejo and other areas of Jaén province, thanks to funding from the Jaén Provincial Council.
PROCARE is an R&D project (PID 2019-111138RB-I00) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, and the Spanish Research Agency) and involves professionals from the UJA Department of Psychology, Rovira i Virgili University, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, and the University of Miami (USA).
García then briefly presented the materials produced within the framework of the PROADEMO initiative, designed to transfer knowledge to youth technicians. These materials will be discussed in detail during the course in a module taught by García himself, who is part of the course faculty.
Led by UJA researchers, PROADEMO aims to support adolescents at risk of emotional problems. It consists of three packages, including: a training guide for emotional skills for professionals working with adolescents, a practical tools guide for professionals in the health, education, and youth fields, complemented by a triage tool; and an emotional support toolkit for young people, especially adolescents, produced in collaboration with them to enhance their emotional literacy.
PROADEMO is a project (PDC2022-133401-I00) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, the Spanish Research Agency, and the European Union through “Next Generation EU” funds as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan).
Luis Joaquín García concluded by stating that “a resilient Spain needs resilient youth” and emphasized the urgent need to invest in promoting the health and well-being of young people. “Our country can work toward the structuring of evidence-based protocols to ensure that no young person is left behind,” he added.
This interdisciplinary course, organized by the Faculty of Labor Relations and Human Resources in Albacete, will address key aspects of youth health and emotional well-being; the issue of addictions during adolescence and youth; youth, disability, and emotional well-being; and the design of preventive programs and the promotion of youth health.
The course is part of UCLM’s commitment to training youth technicians and is linked to the second edition of the Advanced University Training Course for Youth Technicians. Specifically, it is a training block aimed at improving theoretical-practical knowledge and available resources, as well as competencies and skills for designing, planning, managing, evaluating, and coordinating real or conceptual projects and/or youth policies for young people.
