The exhibition ARTífexs 28/7 is made up of 28 paintings and drawings and two books (one poetry and one fiction) by seven Psychiatry patients. Some of the works have been created specifically for the exhibition, such as a series of seven drawings by a Syrian patient that make up a small and moving story of her treatment at the HUB.
The aim of the exhibition is to give visibility to people with mental health problems and to recognise their creativity, as well as to contribute to the elimination of prejudices. The eradication of stigma must be assumed jointly by the whole society, with the aim of ensuring that mental health is treated with responsibility and respect.
The exhibition is the starting point of Bellvitge University Hospital’s first active participation in Hospitalet’s Mental Health Month.
The HUB's Director of Nursing, Rosa Soldevila, thanked the patients for their collaboration in making the exhibition possible and underlined the desire for continuity in order to develop a permanent collaboration in the celebration of Hospitalet’s Mental Health Month.
In addition to the ARTífexs 28/7 exhibition, the HUB's involvement includes the forum theatre session Segundo Segunda (18 October) as well as the hospital’s presence both at the Mostra d'Entitats i Serveis de Salut Mental de l'Hospitalet (15 October, Rambla de la Marina) and at the VI Fira d'Entitats de Catalunya (20 October, Bellvitge Campus).
Forum Theatre on mental health
On Tuesday 18 October at 3 p.m. in the auditorium, the Grup de Teatre Imagina will present the forum theatre Segundo Segunda. Based on the staging of an everyday situation, the play seeks to open up spaces for participatory dialogue on how to deal with conflicts and the need to overcome stereotypes towards people with mental illness. In this case, the starting point is a small conflict in a community of neighbours, an everyday situation in which some latent prejudices play their part, and in which ignorance, fear, individualism or overprotection take centre stage.
A Serious Game to manage emotional state
Finally, the hospital's Pathological Gambling and Eating Disorders (ED) units will have a stand at the Hospitalet’s Mostra d’Entitats i Serveis de Salut Mental, to be held on Saturday 15 October on the city's Rambla de la Marina, and at the VI Fira d’Entitats de Catalunya, to be held on 20 October at the Bellvitge university campus.
At this stand, the benefits of using the serious game e-Estesia, which is used in patients with impulse control problems, such as gambling addiction and eating disorders, as a complement to the usual psychological therapy, with good results, will be introduced in a practical way.
e-Estesia is a therapeutic videogame that improves emotional regulation, integrating the measurements of a biosensor that evaluates heart rate and heart rate variability while the user trains a relaxation strategy.