The María Cano University Foundation, Cali headquarters, participated in the National Mental Health Symposium, organized by the University Psychiatric Departmental Hospital of Valle. The purpose of this participation was to strengthen research and address the mental health challenges faced by professionals, assistants and students in the health sector. This in-person event brought together leading psychiatrists, researchers, health professionals and students, with the aim of connecting research with current and relevant problems in mental health, providing a space for reflection, analysis and consensus building to improve mental health care in the country.

The symposium took place over two days and focused on three main thematic axes: neuropsychiatry, general psychiatry, and psychiatry and public health services. In addition, a wide variety of topics were addressed, including key aspects for the well-being of the community:

• Social disparities, epigenetics and neuropsychiatry.
• Psychological and behavioral alterations in Parkinson’s disease.
• Mood disorders.
• Insomnia: Symptom, risk factor or disorder.
• Mental health and its effects on public health in the Department of Valle.
• The relationship between housing conditions and mental health.

In this important academic event, fourth and eighth semester physiotherapy students participating in their clinical practice at the Hospital Departamental Psychiatrico Universitario del Valle and the Hospital Universitario del Valle Evaristo García participated. Professor Wilmer Arley Criollo López accompanied them during this event, which took place at the Dann Carlton Hotel. In addition, they were attended by the Governor of Valle del Cauca, Clara Luz Roldán González, and the Departmental Secretary of Health, María Cristina Lesmes Duque.

The students expressed their satisfaction with their participation in the National Mental Health Symposium where they were given a unique opportunity to learn about topics of great relevance to their profession and that will help them enrich their knowledge and skills for the treatment of patients with mental disorders.

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