Mijas students to benefit from mental health and risk behaviour prevention programme
The main objective of the initiative is to offer young people emotional support to prevent behaviours such as self-harm or suicidal ideation
More than 2,000 Mijas secondary school students will participate in a mental health and risk behaviour prevention programme organised by the town hall. The main objective of the initiative is to offer young people emotional support to prevent behaviours such as self-harm or suicidal ideation.
The project was presented at the IES Sierra de Mijas on Tuesday by mayor Ana Mata, who explained that it has been developed in collaboration with the Afesol association, which supports people and families of those who suffer with mental illness. The mayor was assisted by the vice-president of Afesol, Cristian González, and the psychologist of the association that will run the programme, Beatriz González.
Mata pointed out that since the pandemic there has been a considerable increase in mental health problems, currently becoming the leading cause of death among youngsters between 15 and 19 years of age, “so these programmes are very important to detect and address any risk situation”.
The programme, which will be taught during the 2023-2024 academic year in six schools in the municipality, will include group workshops on emotional intelligence, resilience and self-esteem, and the prevention of risk behaviour and suicide.
The mayor stressed that all administrations must work hard to prevent and avoid risk situations for all people.
“There is already a strong commitment on the part of Mijas town hall to the implementation of the Local Plan for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, an initiative that was unanimously supported and approved last year,” Mata said
