RENDE (ITALPRESS) – To focus more and more people, to listen to their needs and to transform scientific research into services capable of improving the quality of university life: This is the direction along which the Unical continues to invest with conviction, in line with the strategic priorities outlined in the program of the rector Gianluigi Greco, thus strengthening its commitment to promoting psychological well-being and in contrast to the phenomena of emotional discomfort that cross the university world.
A strategy that is now further strengthened thanks to the placement of the University in the first place in the final ranking of the call “Pro-BEN 2025” of the Ministry of University and Research, dedicated to the support of interventions and services for the welfare of the student population.
The University of Calabria has been admitted to a financing that will support the development of the ProBeneComune 3.0 project and the strengthening of actions and services dedicated to the psychological well-being of the entire academic community, confirming the University as a national reference point in university policies for mental health and quality of life on campus.
The University, with scientific representatives, is head of a broad and qualified partnership involving universities and AFAM institutions distributed throughout the national territory. F
year part of the network, among others, also the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA), the University of “Magna Græcia” of Catanzaro, the Universities of Messina, Palermo, Siena, Trento and Trieste, the University of Mediterranean Studies of Reggio Calabria and the Conservatory of Music “Alessandro Scarlatti” of Palermo. Along with the stringta led by the University of Calabria, thirteen other national partnerships were allowed to finance, in a highly competitive context that awarded the best proposals.
The new ProBeneComune 3.0 project, which will start in October 2026, is part of continuity with previous editions and has the main objective of promoting the psychophysical well-being of the academic community, responding to the growing need to rethink university lifestyles in a healthier, conscious and sustainable way. The initiative integrates research, design and intervention activities, with the aim of further enhancing existing services and encouraging inclusion, participation and psychosocial cohesion within the University.
Through the Psychological Counseling Service of Athens, within the framework of the PRO-BENE-COMUNE project, the University of Calabria promotes and strengthens an articulated set of actions dedicated to the welfare of the student community. These include transpersonal mindfulness paths, group experiential psychological laboratories, sports activities and integrated interventions aimed at promoting psychophysical health and prevention of discomfort.
During the last year, the University of Calabria, together with other partners of the project, has also created a multicentric epidemiological survey inspired by the Self-Determination Theory, with the aim to outline an updated photograph of the mental health of the student population. The research, which involved a total of 3.551 students and students, has produced results of particular interest, offering useful indications to orientate more and more targeted policies of promotion of well-being and strengthening support services.
On the basis of the evidence emerging from research and requests from the academic community, the University of Calabria has already begun a structural strengthening of the Psychological Counseling Service, expanding its accessibility and capacity to take charge.
Starting from January 2026, the University will introduce the possibility of short psychotherapy courses (up to ten interviews) aimed at both student population and university staff, with the aim of offering more timely and structured support in cases requiring targeted clinical intervention. The new service will be linked to the activities already active in promoting well-being, contributing to the construction of an integrated model of prevention and care oriented to the reduction of discomfort, the strengthening of individual resources and the improvement of the quality of university life.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
