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Researchers from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and the Autonomous University of Madrid have provided new evidence on the importance of narrative discourse for cognitive and linguistic development in childhood. The work, published in the journal Estudos da Linguagem , lays the groundwork for developing educational materials in Spanish-speaking classrooms.

According to two published papers led by UV's Professor Gemma García-Soriano, the esTOCma app "has proved useful in raising awareness of OCD in society, dispelling false myths about it and encouraging people to seek help as soon as possible." The results of these studies show that after using the app for a few minutes for 4-5 days, the users have a better understanding of the disorder.

Family care of a person with dementia imposes an emotional burden that often leads to the joint appearance of symptoms of anxiety and depression in caregivers. A recent study by the CUIDEMOS team, formed by researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC), highlights the relationship between the subjective stress of family caregivers and the appearance of anxious and depressive symptoms, highlighting the need for adaptive interventions to improve their well-being.

The Commission of experts coordinated by UPF Prof. Joan Benach, together with the Second Vice-President of the Spanish Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, presented on Friday, March 17 the first government-driven report on the effects of work precariousness on mental health: "Precarious work and mental health: knowledge and policies".

Recerca The size of two brain structures is associated with the response to cognitive-behavioural psychological therapy in children with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a study led by teams from the University of Barcelona, the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Bellvitge University Hospital and the Mental Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERSAM).

A study proves psychotherapists who practice mindfulness are more effective with their patients A study in which researchers from the University of Valencia, the Rey Juan Carlos University and the Carlos III Health Institute participate confirms that applying mindfulness techniques - meditation for awareness as a way of accepting the present - in psychotherapy professionals has a positive effect on their patients.

Some studies reveal worrying numbers of young people with symptoms of depression. For this reason, a clinical trial coordinated by Guillem Feixas, professor at the Faculty of Psychology and the Institute of Neurosciences ( UBNeuro ) of the UB, and Adrián Montesano, lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the Open University of Catalonia , is trying to find new tools to improve psychological treatment for this population.

A research led by Professor Juan Carlos Meléndez, from the Department of Evolutionary Psychology of the University of Valencia (UV), concludes that in hopelessness (set of negative cognitive schemas

Fibromyalgia is a rheumatological disease of unknown origin, which features a chronic pain, and it usually goes together with depression symptoms. It mainly affects women and does not have a cure, although several treatments can alleviate the symptoms. Cognitive-behavioural psychological therapty is one of the tools that have proved efficient when treating this pathology.

Researchers from UPF and the UAB have developed a conversational agent for life coaching with very positive results. Life coaching is a process in which a life coach helps a person to identify and achieve the most important goals for them personally and professionally. The idea is to provide the person with tools and show them attitudes that allow them to take control of their decision and make it a reality.

People's ability to perceive speech sounds has been deeply studied, specially during someone's first year of life, but what happens during the first hours after birth? Are babies born with innate abilities to perceive speech sounds, or do neural encoding processes need to age for some time? Researchers from the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB ( UBNeuro ) and the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD) have created a new methodology to try to answer this basic question on human development.