The COVID-19 pandemic has been causing drastic changes in children’s and families’ lives, with serious negative repercussions on their physical and mental well-being. To respond to the expected increase of children’s mental health problems during this period, a community intervention project is being implemented in the municipality of Guimarães, entitled “CoAction Against COVID-19: Screening, assessment and intervention in mental health problems in children in the context of a pandemic”.
This project, promoted by ProChild CoLAB in partnership with Psychology Association of the University of Minho, Research Center in Psychology of the University of Minho and Municipality of Guimarães, aims to:
1) screen and assess mental health problems in children from 3-10 years that are attending public schools in the municipality of Guimarães; and
2) specialized, individualized and free psychological intervention for those presenting mental health problems.
During the first phase of implementation (between February and July 2021), 1096 children were already screened and 123 were targeted for psychological intervention.
To learn more, see the news associated with this innovative project (in PT):