Description
The main goal of "ES´COOL" is to promote adolescents’ mental health through capacity building of school teachers and school staff. The program aims the development of personal and social skills, and includes the prevention of anxiety and depression symptoms and the promotion of healthy sleep habits, resiliency, and self-regulation in adolescents. Teachers training will allow early-detection of problems that affect adolescents’ mental health and early intervention, improving care effectiveness. Therefore, this project lies on a theoretical MODEL to address mental health promotion in children and adolescents, where there is a major need to include teachers as collaborators. This MODEL has been successful evaluated elsewhere: Matos, M. G., & Tomé, G. (Coord.) (2012). In order to implement this model a train of trainers will be carried on.The objective is to implement our model by means of training teacher to be able not only to foster and allow children and adolescents mental health promotion, but also to be able to establish a dialogue with parents and other staff within the school community. This training includes not only a theoretical training, but also a practical training and finally a didactic unit where teachers will be able to implement direct actions with pupils, families and school staff, and evaluate their actions, but they will be able in the end to train, by their turn, other teachers allowing the sustainability of this process.
Summary of project results
One in every 5 children and adolescents presents evidence of mental health problems (National Mental Health Plan, 2008). The project ES’Cool contributed to the objectives outlined by the National Health Plan, in the sub-area “promotion of mental health among adolescent students”, by implementing a program focusing education and training of school teachers, school staff and parents, capacity can be built for early identification of mental health problems in adolescents and to promote mental health in schools. The program aimed the development of personal and social skills, and included the prevention of anxiety and depression symptoms and the promotion of healthy sleep habits, resiliency, and self-regulation in adolescents. Teachers training will allow early-detection of problems that affect adolescents’ mental health and early intervention, improving care effectiveness. This training includes not only a theoretical training, but also a practical training and finally a didactic unit where teachers will be able to implement direct actions with pupils, families and school staff, and evaluate their actions, but they will be able in the end to train, by their turn, other teachers allowing the sustainability of this process. The objectives of the project were achieved through of the following outputs: contacts with the network of partners and institutions, national schools and training centres; submission of training for certification by the Scientific and Pedagogic Council for Continual Training; 140 Teachers trained; implementation of projects by teachers (supervision); an assessment protocol; initial and final evaluation of the training; data processing; a website constantly updated; meeting with Norwegian and National Consultants, methodology Adviser and International Advisory Committee; 2 submitted papers in national and international journals; 5 communications in national meetings and 1 final event. This project was implemented in 4 regions of the country, ensuring coverage at a national level and it decentralized the project’s actions. The implemented of various projects in schools considering the development of adolescent’s assets as the best way to promote their health, considers the importance of their ecological life context and consider adolescents as partners in this process. The feedback from schools and training centers contacted has been positive and they have been schedule more sessions.
Summary of bilateral results
The project ES’Cool established bilateral relationship with the Norway partners, especially with the Prof. Ingrid Holsen (associate professor at the Department of Health Promotion and Development, Faculty of Psychology -University of Bergen, Norway), which was an international project consultant. This project also promoted a meeting with Norwegian and National Consultants, methodology Adviser and International Advisory Committee.