Focus on Mental Health

Guest lecture highlights challenges and psychosocial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

The Departments of Social Work and Nonprofit, Social & Health Care Management recently hosted a guest lecture. The lecture was entitled "Mental Health as a Public Concern: Reflections and Challenges Post-Covid-19" and addressed the current challenges in the field of mental health in Europe.

Representing the two departments, Belachew Gebrewold, head of the master's program in Social Work, Social Policy & Management, opened the event and Barbara Lill-Rastern, professor in the Department of Social Work, led the evening.

Francisco Javier Saavedra Macías from the University of Seville, tenured professor in the Department of Experimental Psychology and coordinator of the master's program in International Migration, Health, and Welfare, highlighted the psychosocial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term effects on the mental health of various population groups—especially adolescents and young adults, migrants, and older people.

The focus was on various recent European studies and reports, which underpinned the topics of the presentation with their respective focal points. They showed how severely the pandemic has exacerbated existing crises and stresses in these groups. Topics such as suicide prevention, bullying, and the social and political handling of mental health were central points of reference.

Another focus was on the role of social services in Europe: Prof. Saavedra made recommendations on how support services can be made more targeted and better tailored to the respective target groups in the future.

Students from the two master's programs in Social Work, Social Policy and Management, and International Health & Social Management benefited from the professional exchange and, after the lecture, discussed questions about practical implementation and preventive approaches in the field of social services. One of the key insights from the lecture and discussion was that the term “mental health” is a broad and multi-layered concept that encompasses more than just absence due to illness.