Speaker
Presentation in English
LAURA SANTOS
UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA. PORTUGAL
Laura Santos is a clinical and justice psychologist expert, recognized by the Portuguese Psychological Association. She has a PhD in Forensic Psychology (2023) with the project “Affiliative mentality in youth residential care: Delivery and outcome studies of a compassionate mind training program with caregivers” (SFRH/BD/132327/2017 and COVID/BD/152441/2022) and Master`s Degree in Clinical Psychology – Cognitive-behavioral Interventions in Psychological and Health Disorders (2009), both at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra. As a psychologist, she worked in Primary Health Care (2010-2011) and in Residential Youth Care (2012-2017). She has also supervised (2021) and trained psychologists and other professionals in residential care settings (2015-2025). As a researcher, she collaborated in funded projects at the University of Minho (2010) and University of Évora (2012) and implemented the “Projet’Ar-te: Challenging the Change at the Residential Care System”, project funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in residential youth care (2012-2015).
She is currently working at the University of Coimbra, both as an invited assistant Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences in the Master of Clinical Forensic Psychology, and as a researcher in a project funded by the Z Zurich Foundation to promote mental well-being on schools. She is also an integrated member of the Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC).
The For You Project: Preventive Interventions to Promote Mental Well-Being in School Settings
Mental well-being in schools is a key determinant of academic achievement and social functioning for both students and teachers worldwide. Globally, approximately 20% of adolescents experience mental health difficulties that impair daily functioning, while teachers report high levels of occupational stress and burnout, compromising both performance and quality of life. These trends underscore the need for scalable, school-based preventive interventions targeting emotion regulation and mental well-being across the educational community.
Aligned with the Helping Adolescents Thrive Guidelines (World Health Organization, 2020), the For You Project aims to promote mental well-being and prevent mental health problems in adolescents and school communities. The project adopts a multi-level phased approach: (Phase1) psychoeducational workshops delivered to students (7th–9th grade), teachers, school staff, and families; and (Phase2) two structured group interventions – one for adolescents (UP-A KIND) and one for teachers (UP-TEACH KIND). These interventions are grounded in the Unified Protocol for Emotional Disorders, adapted for preventive purposes and integrated with compassion-based practices. Clinical trials employing mixed-methods longitudinal designs have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Phase 2 interventions.
This symposium will present the aims and interventions developed within the For You Project, including its theoretical framework, materials and interventions (Presentation 1), the main findings from the psychoeducational workshops (Presentation 2), the main findings from the longitudinal randomized controlled trial of the UP-A KIND program (Presentation 3), and the qualitative findings from the feasibility study of the UP-TEACH KIND program (Presentation 4).
By integrating multi-level universal interventions across stakeholders and combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the For You Project advances innovative, evidence-based interventions to promote mental well-being in school settings and supports the development of scalable mental health promotion strategies for educational systems.
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