Participation in the 1st ABC Mental Health Conference, in Paços de Ferreira

On October 10, World Mental Health Day, the CRI of Porto Oriental, through its Paços de Ferreira centre, took part in the 1st ABC Mental Health Days, organised by the municipality, which aimed to reinforce the importance of promoting and preventing this area of health.

As part of the second round table, Elisabete Oliveira, a nurse specialising in Mental Health and Psychiatry, presented the paper "Positive Mental Health".

Considering the right to health, in particular the right to mental health and well-being in general, "a universal and fundamental right in the development of children and young people", she stressed the importance of equipping young people with mental health literacy, "in order to adopt healthy behaviours and avoid risky and/or addictive behaviours", since adolescence is a phase of identity construction and the stage of life where these problems often develop.

This unique space for sharing knowledge was also an opportunity to showcase the intervention that has been developed in the school environment, through programmes to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent risk/addictive behaviours, with the aim of strengthening the mental health of children and young people.