On 10 October, World Mental Health Day was celebrated with events in Malaga. A photography competition and exhibition, a handicrafts exhibition and a sharing of experiences were organised under the title 'For the right to grow in wellbeing'. The influence of social changes on child and adolescent mental health was analysed.
The Community Mental Health Unit (USMC) from Fuengirola-Mijas was part of the programme with a presentation on families, educators and social and health agents connected by a community project. The town of Mijas was highlighted as an "example" for its "pioneering work in this area", according to the Town Council, represented by the Councillors for Health and Education, Candela León (Cs) and Mariló Olmedo (Cs). Ángel Blanc, tutor agent and member of the Local Police in the suicide prevention programme, also attended the talks.
According to the coordinator of the USMC Fuengirola-Mijas, Israel Codina, "the pandemic has meant that the number of consultations in this age group has grown exponentially, and we are looking for a way to collaborate with the Mijas municipality. We are not only working with consultations but also with other areas as Social Services. There is a suicide prevention programme with the Local Police. We are growing in the educational sector this year". Olmedo affirmed, "Councils are in close contact with Ampas, parents, and workers in the education sector. We are working together for the children's mental health and detect risky behaviour in time". The Councillor added that " soon we will be launching another educational training initiative on mental health, which will reinforce the recently launched programme".
- A moment during the conference held at the Hospital Clínic. |
- C. Luque
Marina Rubio, a mental health nurse specialist at the USMC Fuengirola-Mijas, said, "we will tackle the topic of adolescence, what we are doing at a local level concerning education, both in terms of care and education. This year, the emphasis of this day has been on adolescence and mental health at this point in life. We have come to talk about our project as we have moved out of the healthcare field".
According to Olmedo, " Support from local and regional administrations is essential. We all have to pull in the same direction to find solutions to what is happening and the frequency with which it is happening". León assured that "it was important for us to attend this event, to learn from the professionals to transfer the knowledge we acquired in the talks to the programmes we carry out, the ones we have with the Ampas, teenagers with tutoring, and the guidance counsellors".
Talk programme
This year, this meeting was organised to exchange experiences on the influence of social changes and their impact on child and adolescent mental health. The event was attended by professionals from all the different departments and association representatives. The programme consisted of nine presentations. In Mijas, the first of the talks in the series 'Minds are also educated' are titled 'How to promote mental health in adolescence from the family' that will take place on Thursday, the 13th, in the Employment Promotion building at 11:30 am. Afesol will set up an information table on Friday, 14th, next to the Las Lagunas Health Centre. The following talks will be: 'Guidelines to improve the education of adolescents before the use of TRIC (Relationship, Information and Communication Technologies)', 'Risks of alcohol and other drug use among teenagers', and 'Guidelines for discipline in adolescence. Affection and firmness'. Also, 'Keys to improving communication in adolescence', 'Prevention of family bullying', 'Prevention of eating disorders in adolescence', 'How to promote proper self-esteem in adolescence' and 'Guidelines to improve emotional education in the family'. Those interested in attending can confirm their attendance by sending a Whatsapp to 618929005, an email to prevencion@mijas.es, or at the Health Department, based in La Cala Square in Las Lagunas.
According to León, "it is not only about treating mental health but also about making people aware that it is possible to get out, that there are guidelines to be followed. For this reason, it is essential residents and the population, in general, are made aware of how this could be prevented".
The coordinator of the regional USMC concluded that "without mental health, there is no health. For mental health, we have to start working from childhood, from adolescence, with emotional education, empowering parents, and the health network so that when there are problems, we can intervene in an early and preventive way".
La Cala Town Hall lit in green as a sign of awareness for good mental health promotion and the importance of this health area.
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