The European HEARTS (Higher Education Action Response for Trauma Support) project, coordinated by the UAB, will present its final results at an international conference taking place on 1 and 2 December in the Humanities Library's Periodicals Room. For three years, this Erasmus+ programme-funded project has been working on new tools and methodologies to address emotional well-being and mental health in higher education. The ultimate goal is to create more inclusive university environments, especially for students and staff in vulnerable situations.
The HEARTS project has been coordinated by lecturer María Esther Fernández-Mostaza, a researcher at the Group for Research in Sociology of Religion (ISOR). "The project stems from the observation that mental health is a growing concern in European universities and that it is often not fully integrated in academic life," explains Fernández-Mostaza. "Students point to difficulties accessing support services, unfamiliarity with available resources, and a lack of safe spaces to discuss emotional distress, grief processes, and experiences of discrimination. Teaching and administrative staff often say they lack sufficient training and tools to support these situations", she adds.
In this context, the project conducted a needs assessment at five European universities and designed pilot initiatives with students, university staff, and mixed groups. Based on this research, HEARTS has developed an intervention framework combining academic knowledge and creative methodologies to address mental health from a community-based, preventive, and trauma-informed perspective.
In this context, the project conducted a needs assessment at five European universities and designed pilot initiatives with students, university staff, and mixed groups. Based on this research, HEARTS has developed an intervention framework combining academic knowledge and creative methodologies to address mental health from a community-based, preventive, and trauma-informed perspective.
The activities have been implemented through workshops and training itineraries based on creative and community methodologies, such as social and community theatre, sociological and expressive approaches, social psychology frameworks and intercultural competence, mindfulness and resilience practices, and participatory action research through Photovoice. All proposals were co-created with the participants and with the services of each university to adapt to local realities.
In addition to the UAB, the project also involved the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, the University of Malta, the University of Cagliari, the Social Community Theatre Centre of Turin (COREP), and the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), based in France. This alliance has allowed researchers to contrast very diverse realities and, at the same time, build a common language on mental health, diversity and inclusion in the university environment.
Among the main results of the project, three open access publications stand out:
– HEARTS Foundation Bricks Report, a needs assessment report describing the main barriers to accessing mental health services and the inequalities that particularly affect vulnerable groups.
– HEARTS Activity Handbook, an activity manual with workshops and pathways for working on well-being with students and staff, based on creative and community-based methodologies.
– HEARTS Guide, a guide for implementing the HEARTS method at other universities, with guidance for integrating it into teaching and institutional policies.
The collected data shows a clear demand for dedicated spaces to discuss mental health, a marked separation between the academic curriculum and well-being activities, and the need to strengthen the training of faculty and support staff. At the same time, the pilot experiences demonstrate that participatory and creative methodologies facilitate student engagement, reduce the stigma associated with mental health, and generate stronger support networks within campuses.
The final conference, held at the Bellaterra campus, brings together partner institutions, members of the university community, and mental health professionals to present these results, share experiences, and discuss how to continue the HEARTS method beyond the project.
All publications and resources are available on the project website, heartsproject.eu, and on its social networks (@hearts.project), so that other universities can adapt and apply these tools in their own contexts.
