The emotional health of teachers and educators is becoming increasingly important, especially in highly complex educational contexts. Probitas is highly aware of the need to promote the emotional wellbeing of the professionals who work with the children participating in our programmes and thus has co-created the "Professionals in Mind" programme with the Vidal i Barraquer Foundation. This programme offers training based on mentalization to improve the way teams manage the emotional impacts experienced in their day-to-day work. 

Dr. Mark Dangerfield, director of the Vidal i Barraquer University Institute of Mental Health at the Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, points out that "when faced with major emotional shocks, we all become emotionally dysregulated, and we need to feel properly psyched up to regain calm and the ability to think so as not to be guided by emotional impulses. With PEM, we aim to improve the quality of team bonding to ensure the best care for each other.” Mark Dangerfield is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist with over 25 years of professional experience in the field of mental health. 

The pilot phase has been implemented in a primary school and two highly complex high schools in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. Professionals from the Vidal i Barraquer Foundation have trained 60 teachers, enabling them to understand and interpret not only the thoughts and emotions of children but also their own and thus improve communication and emotional support in the classroom. 

In the educational context, fostering mentalization allows not only to know how to interpret children's emotional signals, but also to be able to reflect on how one's own emotions and thoughts can influence interaction with them. 

“Professionals in Mind” in non-formal education 

Throughout this academic year 2023/24, a collaboration has begun with the Marianao Foundation, a benchmark organisation in social and educational intervention in Sant Boi de Llobregat, to replicate the PEM in the field of non-formal education. 

Dr. Anna Veiga, director general of Probitas Foundation, emphasises that "in our mission to accompany children and teenagers in vulnerable situations, we believe that it is also very important to take into account the role of educators and other professionals in the field of non-formal education, as their emotional health can directly affect their relationship with children". 

Thus, two teams of the School of New Opportunities and Childhood and Family of the Marianao Foundation receive two one-and-a-half hour sessions per month throughout the school year. According to Miriam Rodríguez, head of the Childhood and Families area and participant in the training, "they help us to carry out a reflective process to become aware of the emotions that arise from our professional practice.” 

The programme also includes a research project with the aim of finding that the mentalization skills of professionals can improve conflict resolution strategies, reduce the perception of stress and promote the well-being of the professionals themselves.