The Psychological and Speech Therapy Services Unit of the ULL has assisted 167 people in nine months

The World Health Organization promotes the celebration of World Health Day on October 10th. World Mental Health Day, a date that coincides with the first nine months of activity of the Psychological and Speech Therapy Services Unit of the University of La Laguna, launched on January 9th of this year and operating at full capacity since then, with the exception of the institutional closure in August. To date, 197 members of the university community have requested services, of whom 167 have received or are receiving help, which, as the head of the unit, the Professor of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, points out Wenceslao Peñate Castro, “has resulted in higher demand than anticipated.”.

The unit provides speech therapy, clinical neuropsychology and mental health services, and it is the latter that, by far, accumulates the largest number of users: the latest detailed data available is from May, and at that time there were 126 people in this type of treatment, of which 9 were doctoral students, 12 master's students, 104 undergraduate students and one person was a teacher.

By department, the Faculty of Sciences registered the most mental health service users, with 22 people, followed by Psychology and Speech Therapy (21) and the Doctoral School and Postgraduate Studies (20), while the lowest attendance was at the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Higher School of Engineering and Technology, with 3 people each. Of these users, 92 were female, 32 male, and 2 non-binary.

Regarding speech therapy, it has been the least requested service, with only three people using it. Peñate considers this logical, given that this type of treatment is usually given during childhood and adolescence, so there is generally less need during university years. As for clinical neuropsychology services, 12 requests for consultation or information have been received, again with students making up the majority of the group (92%).

Mental health

Peñate explains that, as is the case in the general population, most of the problems addressed in the unit are what are known as “common mental disorders,” associated with emotional disorders, typically depression and anxiety, the latter closely related to difficulties adapting to the demands of university life. “Another important group consists of disorders stemming from students” life circumstances, such as family difficulties, painful experiences, or exposure to risky situations, among others.”.

On this October 10th, the professor reminds us that “mental health belongs, like any other pathology, to the spectrum of health disorders and, as such, needs to receive the appropriate specialized treatment, avoiding stigmas and erroneous beliefs: mental problems are resolved like other health problems and do not imply greater interference than other disorders.”.

In their opinion, the real problem lies in not addressing these situations in a timely manner, as this risks increasing their impact and, consequently, exacerbating suffering and disability. “This is especially serious in a vulnerable population like university students, who are at an age where their personal goal should be to build a better future.”.

University service

The Psychological and Speech Therapy Services Unit is located on the Guajara Campus, very close to the Faculty of Law. More than fifty people collaborate to serve the university community, both those affiliated with the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy and external consultants, all of whom are registered professionals. Those interested in requesting a session or asking for information can do so via email. unidadpsilog@ull.edu.es.

The fees for each service, which cover the therapist's fees and other costs, are published on the website, although at the moment the university community is exempt from payment because the services are subsidized through the Participatory Budgets of the academic institution.