The Catalan Congress on Child and Adolescent Mental Health addresses behavioral disorders in young people
- The VI Congress addresses the issue of behavioral disorders in children and adolescents from a multidisciplinary and intersectoral perspective. It has over 400 registered participants from various fields and around seventy speakers, guests, and committee members.
- The Congress will conclude with a panel discussion on the impacts of the August attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils.
- The program consists of 4 panels, conferences, debates, and about twenty selected posters.
The Congress Foundation for Mental Health organizes the 1st Edition of the Catalan Congress of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, which will take place on November 23rd and 24th at Cosmocaixa in Barcelona. The organization has had the participation of a broad group of professionals, from the Organizing and Scientific committees, and the support of different entities and institutions in the sector.
The doctor in Anthropology Angel Martinez, full professor at the Rovira i Virgili University, will inaugurate the Congress with the lecture “Adolescences, crisis of presence and loss of reciprocity: an anthropological perspective.”.
The Congress's philosophy is defined by the following pillars: 1) Multidisciplinarity; 2) Wide geographical representation; 3) Broad representation of theoretical models; 4) Emphasis on a community approach; 5) Creation of debate spaces with wide participation from the attending public.
The Congress will address the reading and complexity of behavioral disorders in childhood and adolescence from different fields; clinical interventions; available resources and devices; and advances in research on behavioral disorders in children and adolescents.
Some challenges facing the Congress
The problem of childhood and adolescent behavioral disorders is not a topic that should be addressed solely from the perspective of mental health specialists; factors at the family, school, and social levels are involved.
On a family and social level, solitude of the young population living in unstable, fragile, precarious, and rapidly changing environments provokes the vulnerable and fragile adolescent -corresponds to their developmental stage- easily drop out of school and may fall into severe psychopathological conditions or seeking immediate gratification on social media, any type of consumption, or in idealized groups that, in some way, provide him with a pseudo-identity.
Regarding resources: Education is a right and a duty, but health is only a right and not a duty; this causes serious problems when intervening, as In many cases, families do not authorize the intervention of clinic professionals.. On the other hand, lack of training in terms of mental health and the community mental health model. It also suffers from collapse of many services, especially in pediatric and adolescent psychiatric emergencies.
At a biological level: In recent decades, a great effort has been made to understand the neurophysiological bases that support the’Association between abuse/neglect and risk of mental disorders in adulthood. Specifically, in recent years, the role of acquired modifications has been investigated, capable of altering gene expression and, therefore, the general plasticity of biological systems for adaptation and response to stress.
Data on the Impact of Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents
More than a third of the consultations (34.4%) and diagnoses (36.1%) about the mental health of children and adolescents are For reasons of behavioral disorder. El 58% d’aquests trastorns es desenvolupen en joves majors de 12 anys, seguit de la franja d’edat entre 5 i 12 anys, que s’eleva al 39%. El 3% restant de casos es diagnostica a nens i nenes de 0 a 5 anys.
It is estimated that up to 30% de la patologia mental de l’edat adulta està directament o indirecta relacionada amb el maltractament durant la infància, including parental neglect, physical and psychological abuse, and sexual abuse, among the most common forms of maltreatment.
Congress members available to the media for potential interviews
Alberto Lasa
Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Former head of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center of the Basque Health Service. Osakidetza. Former president of Sepypna.
Josep Moya
Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Consultant physician at the CSMA of Parc Taulí in Sabadell, coordinator of the Clinical Team at Centre l’Alba, Barcelona (Care for children and adolescents with behavioral disorders, psychosis, and autism). Founder of the Observatory of Mental and Community Health of Catalonia (OSAMCAT) and member of the CIPAIS Team. Lecturer for the Diputació de Barcelona and ACCEP, supervisor of Juvenile Justice teams in Girona. Author of the book: ’Maldad, culpa y responsabilidad“ (Evil, Guilt, and Responsibility).
Antecedents of the Congress
The Catalan Congress on Child and Adolescent Mental Health is held triennially, with the aim of addressing mental health issues affecting children and adolescents.
The other editions of the Congress have been:
- First Congress (2002): “Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Perspectives for the 21st Century.”.
- II Congress (2005): “Adolescence and New Mental Health Needs”.
- The 3rd Congress (2008): “Contemporary Discontents. Analysis from the fields of Justice, Education, Health, Work, Social Action, and Citizenship and Community.”.
- IV Congress (2011): “The times of childhood and adolescence. Discomfort and psychopathology: detection, prevention, and interdisciplinary action.”.
- 5th Congress (2014): “Mental Health Experiences: In Care, Training, and Research Fields”.