Mental Health

The Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group develops primarily clinical research lines aimed at addressing the needs of individuals treated at the Psychiatry Department of the Sant Pau's Hospital, thus covering a wide spectrum of psychiatric disorders and mental health.

Main lines of research

• Mood disorders and suicide: This research line studies major depressive disorder and suicide, in close collaboration with other research lines within the group (Narcís Cardoner and Javier de Diego).
• Imaging for precision psychiatry: Study of dimensional response biomarkers to rapid-acting antidepressants. This research line aims to elucidate the mechanisms of action of rapid-acting antidepressants through the integration of magnetic resonance imaging and syndromic and dimensional clinical assessments, with the goal of identifying individualized brain biomarkers that optimize the personalization of antidepressant treatment and promote progress toward precision psychiatry (Marta Cano).
• Psychotic disorders: Research related to treatment-resistant schizophrenia and psychological therapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders based on CBTp (Feeling Safe, MCT, Unified Protocol) (Eva Grasa and Alexandra Roldán).
• Borderline personality disorder: Research on new third-generation psychotherapeutic approaches such as mindfulness, dialectical behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and positive psychology (Joaquim Soler).
• Eating disorders: Research focused on evidence-based treatment strategies, mainly behavioral interventions, with ongoing projects (Mar Carceller Sindreu and Cristina Carmona).
• Intensive home treatment (IHT) and community intervention: This line focuses on studies evaluating patient and caregiver care experiences, as well as improving home treatments, aiming to enhance people’s quality of life (Ana Martín Blanco).
• Addictive behaviors: This line aims to establish bidirectional connections between clinical practice and research in the field of addictive disorders to suggest hypotheses, incorporate recent advances, develop new measurement instruments, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, constantly trying to incorporate the patient’s perspective on the path towards these objectives (Mercè Madre).

Scientific Challenges

• Foster research that reduces the healthcare, social, and personal costs of mental illness by exploring areas such as epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, physiopathology, prevention, and treatment.
• Foster research into mental health therapies.
• Foster research to improve the quality of life of patients with mental disorders.

Contact

Maria Jesús Portella
Mportella@santpau.cat