Psychologist Joan Deus to inaugurate the new academic year, dedicated to mental health

Joan Deus is Professor in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the UAB. He earned his degree in Psychology at the UAB and specialised in clinical psychology, accredited in clinical neuropsychology and pain psychology. In addition to publishing numerous articles and being involved in research projects, he was also the principal investigator of five R&D&i projects on the neuroimaging of pain.

He has worked at a variety of centres, including the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, the Maresme Hospital Consortium and the Guttmann University Institute, and was awarded the Rosa Martí-Sensat Award from the Catalan Association of Psychologists, the National Prize in Experimental Neuropsychology from the Clinical Neuropsychology Consortium, and the Ramón Bayés i Sopena Award from the Academy of Medical and Health Sciences from Catalonia and the Balearic Islands for his career trajectory.

Winning the mental health match

The UAB has organised a variety of activities that will be held throughout the year under the slogan: "La salut mental està en joc #GuanyemLaPartida" [Mental Health at Stake, #Let'sWinTheMatch]. Mental health problems form part of our lives and, according to dozens of studies, there has been an increase in mental health issues in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the objectives of this campaign is to eliminate the stigma attached to mental health and help both university members and the general public to acquire the tools necessary to be able to reover and improve their quality of life.

From 26 September to 3 October, the UAB organises the #Trio la Vida Days, an initiative by the Government of Catalonia's Ministry for Health in collaboration with Catalonia's public universities to offer educational workshops, fairs, hands-on activities and film projections on suicide prevention.

Also in September, the UAB community will see the launch of the “Vagó de la ciència” [Science Carriage], a joint initiative by the UAB and the FGC trains which eah academic year will prepare an interactive exhibition on a specific subject inside the train travelling through the UAB campus. In this first edition the topic of the exhibition will be mental health.

The programme for the 2023/24 academic year will include many other activities related to mental health, such as the La Comunitària de la UAB (campus entities' fair), the 3rd Inclusive Art Week, the 14th Health and Sustainability Week, and other workshops on human rights, eating disorders, unwanted loneliness, and anxiety and stress.

The UAB also has decided to strengthen its health sciences area with the construction of a new building, lcoated next to the Faculty of Medicine, with a surface area measuring 10,000 m2. The first phase of the project will include the construction of the two first towers, which will house the new Faculty of Psychology, the Institut de Neurociències and other advanced research spaces.