More than 7,400 students in the seventh grade, more than 6,700 students in the eighth grade, and more than 5,800 students in the ninth grade participated in the group sessions.
As of the end of April, according to the Association of Entrepreneurs for Inclusion (EPIS), the For You – Promoting Mental Health in Schools program has covered, in addition to nearly 20,000 students in the third cycle, more than 1,900 teachers, operations assistants and more From 770 families from more than 100 public schools in 59 municipalities.
The initiative takes place over four academic years, between 2022 and 2026, with the aim of better preparing people by “developing emotional regulation skills that contribute to more mentally balanced lifestyles.”
“With regard to young people, 76 percent acknowledge that Port T sessions have increased their knowledge of mental health, 75 percent believe they have learned important lessons that will be useful in their daily lives, 69 percent 100 feel able to apply what they have learned and 67 percent will use From them, they learned emotion regulation strategies,” reads a statement released today.
EPIS also confirms that the program has had a positive impact on teachers, operational assistants, and families.
Ninety-six percent of the participants realized that “the sessions increased their knowledge of mental health, 95 percent see that they have learned important things that will be useful in their daily lives, 93 percent feel they can apply what they have learned and 92 percent will use the emotion regulation strategies they learned.”
“It is a very positive sign we got from the school communities in the first months of implementation, which reveals potential for growth and should lead EPIS and its partners to continue investing in this project over the coming years,” said the President. The statement was quoted by the company EPIS Leonor Bellezza.
For his part, member of the Executive Board of the Unit of Cognitive-Behavioral Clinical Psychology (UPC³) at the University of Coimbra Daniel Rego said that the program “has shown that both students, parents, teachers and non-teachers benefit from a short but useful intervention”.
“Through this programme, we are taking emotional education into schools, and contributing to improving the mental health of Portuguese school communities,” emphasized the CEO (Executive Director) of Zurich in Portugal, Helen Westerlind.
“Recognition of the need to prevent and promote mental health for young people by the Portuguese educational authorities is vital to making an impact in the most sustainable way possible,” stressed Z Zurich Foundation Director Gregory Renand.
“Por ti” is funded by the Z Zurich Foundation, managed by Zurich Portugal and Missão Azul, and implemented by EPIS in partnership with UPC³ of the University of Coimbra.
Within four years, the program will involve about 45 students in two phases, both starting in September 2022, with the first extending until 2026 and the second until 2025.
“(…) Scientific research is also being conducted, with the aim of evaluating the effective increase in mental well-being – this evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the program is part of a multi-year project that will analyze the most relevant changes in the conditions for acquiring mental health skills, regulating emotions, and increasing emotional well-being and quality of life.” Add.
“Writer. Analyst. Avid travel maven. Devoted twitter guru. Unapologetic pop culture expert. General zombie enthusiast.”
