PRR Project

Summary

Despite the disturbing trends of gender disparity in mental health across the world (women are nearly twice as likely as men to suffer from mental illness), insufficient research impedes the understanding of the interlinkages between gender specificities and mental wellness, which translates into lack of access to tailored services and care. The promotion of women’s mental health particularly in the perinatal period has been increasingly recognized as crucial not only for women, but for the child’s development and for the overall society’s wellbeing.The prospective employee is expected to be focused on pursuing high-quality research with substantial scientific autonomy in the field of perinatal mental health, by focusing on a better understanding of women’s mental health from an interdisciplinary perspective (e.g., intersection between biological/reproductive changes throughout the development and psychological functioning) and considering an ecological approach, particularly during transition to parenthood. Specifically, the employee will focus on: a) the continuous refinement of a comprehensive biopsychosocial model of perinatal mental disorders (e.g., combination between psychological, social, and biological factors to provide an holistic understanding of the disorders and risk identification); b) the development of psychological interventions targeting the promotion of wellbeing and the prevention/treatment of mental health problems in the perinatal period, using new delivery formats (ehealth formats), and the assessment of its clinical efficacy and economical utility; c) the intersection between mental health and parenting; and d) the implementation of evidence-based interventions to guarantee its successful uptake within the community. Within these topics, it is also expected that the employee makes substantial efforts to: a) capture external funding to pursue their research with national and international partnerships; b) establish and reinforce international collaborations related with this research field (e.g., international consortiums); c) attract early career researchers (e.g., PhD students) to conduct cutting edge research within these topics and to promote their training, with the goal of forming a “special interest group of researchers” in the field of perinatal mental health; d) optimize the dissemination of research results and outputs, both for the scientific and the lay communities. Knowledge transfer of research outputs to society (through the Cognitive-Behavioral Clinical Psychology Unit-UpC3), and exploitation potential of research outputs (e.g., products, psychological intervention), as well as consultancy services will also be an important task of the prospective employe. Scientific profile required by the hiring institution :Based on the previously mentioned tasks, the prospective employee should have a background in Clinical Psychology (cognitive-behavioral approach), with a clear research emphasis and expertise in: a) women’s mental health across the life cycle, with a particular focus in perinatal mental health, maternal health and parenting; b) development and (cost-)efficacy assessment of psychological interventions to promote wellbeing and prevent/treat mental health problems in the perinatal period, particularly using new delivery formats such as ehealth . Prior experience in leading research projects and research teams, the ability to establish strategic international collaborations that can improve the quality of the scientific research performed, and to attract and train young researchers will also be required skills to fit this position. Moreover, knowledge transfer skills (dissemination of research outputs to increase its social impact) will be highly valued. Rationale for the need to hire for the indicated scientific area.The Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), based at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPCE), aims to pursue its high-quality research in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SND) of the United Nations. This position aims to strengthen the CINEICC’s critical mass in pivotal areas for the implementation of its strategic project, namely in Perinatal Mental Health and development and implementation of evidence-based interventions using innovative delivery formats (ehealth). On the one hand, by focusing on the interplay between biological (reproductive) and psychological functioning to understand and promote Women’s Mental Health across the lifecycle, and thus strive to reduce the gender gap in mental health (SND 5 gender equality) and promote wellbeing (SND3 good health and wellbeing), namely through the implementation of new treatment delivery formats that increase access to mental healthcare (SND10 reduced inequalities).