{"id":1062,"date":"2026-10-23T12:42:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T10:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2026-10-23T12:42:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T10:42:50","slug":"touch-researchers-explore-mental-health-and-wellbeing-across-the-lifespan-at-the-2nd-hands-on-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/2026\/10\/23\/touch-researchers-explore-mental-health-and-wellbeing-across-the-lifespan-at-the-2nd-hands-on-school\/","title":{"rendered":"TOUCH researchers explore mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan at the 2nd Hands-on School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The TOUCH COFUND programme held its second Hands-on School from 19 to 21 October 2026 at the Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), bringing together doctoral researchers for three days of interdisciplinary learning, practical workshops and collaborative challenges focused on mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the theme \u201cFostering mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan\u201d<\/em>, the school offered TOUCH doctoral candidates an opportunity to explore how mental health is shaped by biological, psychological, social and environmental factors at different stages of life, from pregnancy and childhood to adulthood and older age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme combined scientific insights with hands-on activities, encouraging participants to connect research findings with real-world challenges and develop innovative approaches to promoting mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From early life experiences to healthy ageing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first day focused on the foundations of mental health during pregnancy and childhood. Dr. Jesus Cobo led a workshop on maternal mental health, addressing early detection and intervention during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Dr. Roser Nadal and Dr. Anastasya Ivanova explored the long-term impact of early life stress, highlighting how childhood experiences can influence brain development and mental health throughout life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the second day, participants examined mental health research and its methodological challenges. Dr. Marc Ferrer discussed key research questions surrounding borderline personality disorder in young people, while Dr. Adri\u00e1n P\u00e9rez addressed burnout both as a research topic and as a lived experience, with particular relevance to doctoral researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final day focused on mental wellbeing in later life and the relationship between nutrition and mental health. Dr. Sara Dom\u00e8nech introduced reminiscence therapy and its applications in healthy ageing through an interactive activity involving the creation of a collaborative digital life-story book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Marta Portero led a workshop exploring how dietary choices, food environments and sustainability influence mental health. The session included a visit to the UAB farmers’ market (Mercat de Pag\u00e8s<\/em>) and a collaborative cooking activity at Vilateca, where participants connected scientific evidence with practical decisions about healthy and sustainable eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning interdisciplinary knowledge into practical solutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A central element of the school was its collaborative approach. Through two challenge workshops facilitated by Dr. S\u00f2nia S\u00e0nchez, doctoral researchers worked in multidisciplinary teams to explore how mental wellbeing can be promoted at different stages of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing on the knowledge acquired throughout the programme, participants developed innovative intervention proposals and presented their ideas to peers and facilitators, fostering critical thinking, creativity and knowledge exchange across research disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These activities reflected the TOUCH programme’s commitment to interdisciplinary doctoral training and to equipping researchers with the skills needed to address complex societal challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strengthening the TOUCH research community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the scientific programme, the 2nd Hands-on School provided an opportunity for TOUCH doctoral researchers to share experiences, exchange perspectives and strengthen connections within the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By combining research-based knowledge, practical learning and collaborative problem-solving, the event highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and promoting mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The TOUCH COFUND programme held its second Hands-on School from 19 to 21 October 2026 at the Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), bringing together doctoral researchers for three days of interdisciplinary learning, practical workshops and collaborative challenges focused on mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan. Under the theme \u201cFostering mental health and wellbeing across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":1063,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1064,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions\/1064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webs.uab.cat\/touch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}