The Projeto Jovens na Pandemia receives registrations for a psychotherapeutic program from children and adolescents between 8 and 17 years old with symptoms of anxiety and depression somehow related to the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The treatment helps children and young people better deal with difficult emotions that may have become more common during the pandemic, such as stress, sadness and fear. The initiative came from a group of researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP).
The psychotherapeutic program is carried out in online sessions, via computer, mobile phone or tablet. One parent must accompany the child or young person who has not recently taken any psychiatric medication or psychotherapy in the past month. The videos are approximately 5 minutes each and the sessions have an estimated duration of 90 minutes.
The service is completely free and is aimed at young people from all over Brazil. Participation in the program is voluntary and the names of participants will not be disclosed. Applications can be submitted on the project website.
The study is part of the thematic project “Interventions in Early Childhood and in Cognitive, Social and Emotional Trajectories” funded by the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and led by Professor Guilherme Polanczyk from the Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clinics of is coordinated by the Medical Faculty of the University of São Paulo.