The Luis de Carlos Forum tackles the protection of mental health in adolescents
Organised by the Real Madrid Foundation, the event brought together mental health experts, educators and sports professionals to discuss the emotional well-being of young people.
The Real Madrid Foundation celebrated a new instalment of the Luis de Carlos Forum, focused on the protection of mental health in adolescents. The event, which was held at the Canopy by Hilton Madrid Castellana hotel and brought together mental health specialists, educators and sports professionals, addressed the growing concern for the emotional well-being of young people and offered solutions from different perspectives.
Dr Celso Arango, Head of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital, said: "One in five adolescents in Spain has harmed themselves in the last few years. This can only be stopped with prevention, it is key. An early treatment in cases of depression and anxiety can make a difference in the future of our young people".
Jesús Díaz Rocillo, clinical psychologist and supervisor at Mentalia Montreal day hospitals, stressed in his talk: "We must continue to raise awareness about the importance of an environment that fosters the healthy emotional development of adolescents, especially in the face of the risks posed by social networks".
Meanwhile, Eva Molleja, director of sports psychology at the Real Madrid youth academy, highlighted the role of sport as a tool for emotional support: "Sport is a protective factor, although it also includes risk factors. We must find the balance between both elements".
The forum, which was chaired by the Real Madrid Foundation's executive vice-president, Enrique Sánchez, was also attended by Álvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid legend and coach of the youth team, who said: "I've been very fortunate to work hand in hand with the Real Madrid Foundation and I've been able to experience these problems and how important sport is in helping to solve them".
Head of Training at the Real Madrid Foundation, Adrian Silla, said: ‘The Real Madrid Foundation has an educational platform called Sport Values Academy TV where we share content associated with the values that we work on with young people with problems in our projects. It's important to establish synergies in this mental health process by building scenarios or tools that allow us to improve these problems. If in the end we don't deal with them and we don't take responsibility, they remain just this: a forum where we talk, comment and expose, but we lack the action".