Present at the opening ceremony of the new postgraduate
programme were Pere Rueda,
the director of the programme and a psychology specialist, Cristina Molina, the
director of the Catalan government’s Master Plan on Mental Health, Carmela Fortuny,
the director of the ICASS, Domènec Casasayas,
the president of the AMPANS foundation, Dr. Joan Bosch from the ALTHAIA
foundation, and Dr. María Fernández Capo,
the Vice Rector for Academic Organization and Teaching.

The new Postgraduate Programme in Mental Illness and
Behavioural Disorders in Disabled People is the result of an agreement between
the parties involved. The signing of the agreement was attended by Dr. Albert Balaguer, the Dean of the
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Domènec Casasayas, the president of AMPANS, and Pere
Rueda, the director of the
programme.

AMPANS is a
non-profit organization started in 1965 by a group of parents who wanted to
promote the normal social integration of intellectually disabled people and
give their lives a public and social dimension.

Vice
Rector María
Fernández Capo pointed out that the creation of this new postgraduate programme
represents a special commitment for the UIC, since the institution's objective
is to train not just professionals but individuals who respect and value others.

Approximately
a third of intellectually disabled people present behavioural and mental
disorders that constitute one of the biggest challenges faced by the
professionals and services involved in their care. The training offered by the
new postgraduate programme addresses this problem through an integrative,
biopsychosocial approach, and aims to meet the demands of many of the professionals
who care for intellectually disabled people in special-education centres,
occupational-health centres, day centres, homes and sheltered housing.

More information on
the postgraduate programme