On the Porto campus of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, students, lecturers, specialists, members of the Rector's Team, directors of academic units and partners gathered at the meeting "UCP2 Mental Health: what is changing in mental health and well-being at the Universidade Católica?".

Under the motto "What can we do now?", Margarida Gaspar de Matos, professor at the Faculty of Human Sciences, emphasised that caring for mental health means preventing, promoting and acting as a community. In her presentation, she made concrete recommendations - from creating healthier ecosystems to investing in social and emotional skills.

The ensuing conversation brought three student leaders to the stage: Carolina Mano (FCH-UCP Lisbon), Inês Reis (FEP-UCP Porto) and Afonso Oliveira (FD-UCP Porto). Each shared their experiences and concerns, showing that talking about mental health is, above all, about giving space to the real challenges faced by students.

In the UCP Students’ Voices panel, Matilde Marques (FEP-UCP Porto) and Leonor Esteves (IGOS-UCP Viseu) emphasised that “students are not just recipients, but an active part in building solutions”, demonstrating the importance of involving students.

During the meeting, new initiatives to promote mental health and well-being were also presented, to be implemented this semester:

• Workshops on Mental Health Literacy and Psychological First Aid, addressing topics such as academic anxiety, positive body image, panic attacks, and academic burnout;
• UCP2 Be, a soft skills development programme for first-year students, currently in its pilot phase in Porto and Lisbon;
• Pro-Stress Course, with 45 hours dedicated to academic stress management;
• UCP Students' Voices, an advisory panel that ensures the constant presence of student perspectives in the definition of institutional strategies.

The meeting ended with the signing of protocols with Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto, Casa de Saúde da Boavista, and Associação Recovery IPSS, strengthening the network of partners associated with Universidade Católica to promote students' mental health. The Centro de Solidariedade de Braga/Projeto Homem and JS Clínica Médica are also part of this network.

Learn more about UCP2 Mental Health