The consequences of the pandemic are not over. Three years later, young people continue to suffer different manifestations of emotional discomfort that are difficult for them to verbalize. All universities know this and the previous Minister of Universities, Gemma Geis, put it on the table a year ago, promoting a study on inclusion and attention to diversity in the 12 Catalan universities.
This morning, the rector of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) gave figures on the increase in students with mental health problems.
In the service that serves students with specific educational needs (Piune), cases have tripled (1,281 visits in 2022). Students come to the service due to a decrease in academic performance but during the consultation it is discovered that the student suffers from anxiety, anguish, depression, socialization problems or emotional management problems.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” said the rector of the UAB, Javier Lafuente, yesterday, “and as a public university we are going to face this reality.”
The first measure adopted by the governing team is healthcare. More psychologists have been provided in the campus medical service (from one last year to three this year). “In no case do we want to replace public health services” the rector clarified, but we do want to facilitate the connection with the student who may need it. From the UAB you can refer people to psychologists or psychiatrists in the public sector.
Likewise, teachers will receive training to improve their skills in detecting signs of fragility.
The second measure is awareness. A series of activities have been designed so that students can come and talk about the topic. Break the taboo that is associated with these problems that stigmatize the people who suffer from them. In this way, we want to facilitate requests for help from students.
At the UAB, the 2023-2024 academic year will be dedicated entirely to this topic, starting with the inaugural conference on September 28 that will be given by the professor of Clinical and Health Psychology, Joan Deus.
The motto of the course is "mental health is at stake
On the other hand, mental health is part of the UAB's strategic commitment to the future. The rector announced that he is going to build a new faculty of psychology next to the faculty of medicine and the institute of neurosciences. It is intended to be a reference center in the training and research of comprehensive human health care.
The autonomous faculties of psychology and medicine are those that receive the largest number of students in Spain. They also have a reference hospital network (Vall d'Hebron, Sant Pau, Can Ruti or Parc Taulí).
Psychology has about 2,000 undergraduate and master's students. Demand is very high (some 3,000 applications for 360 places in the degree), as well as speech therapy, which offers 80 places.
The initial project has been designed with four independent but interconnected modules so that researchers and teachers can collaborate. It is planned to move the faculty of psychology and also the institute of neurosciences that is currently located within the faculty of medicine.
Likewise, the psychology laboratories and those of the neurosciences institute will be unified in one of the modules.
The buildable area is 10,000 m2. Currently, the building is in the project bidding process and it is not expected to open before the 2026-2027 academic year. The initiative has been activated through Next Generation funds and public financing is also planned.
