Between March and May, Andrés Ruiz Sánchez, a CESPYD researcher and PhD candidate in Psychology at the University of Seville, is undertaking a research stay at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan, Italy). During this period, he is working under the supervision of Dr. Daniela Marzana in the Department...
CESPYD makes available the MadresUP Implementation Manual, a practical guide for developing community-based interventions aimed at enhancing psychosocial well-being and empowering mothers in culturally diverse contexts. The manual is based on the experience of the MadresUP programme and is tailored to different groups, including migrant, refugee and Roma mothers, allowing...
Our colleague Virginia Paloma has been invited by the Mental Health Commissioner of the Ministry of Health to present the MadresUP Project during a seminar addressed to all Regional Health Departments of Spain’s Autonomous Communities. The seminar, held on March 24, aimed to showcase three best practices at the national...
On February 24, CESPYD took part in a particularly inspiring meeting at Espacio AMBAR, an initiative of Fundación SAMU, where we shared a close and enriching space for dialogue around work with migrant women in Andalusia. During the conversation, we were able to explore in greater depth the research project...
The MadresUP project promotes spaces for accompaniment and mutual support among culturally minoritized mothers in Spain, with the aim of strengthening their psychosocial well-being. We are pleased to share a series of videos presenting some of the experiences developed with three groups of participating mothers: African, Latin American, and Roma....
On Friday, February 27, we held the Research Seminar “Cultural Adaptation of the mHealth e-Perinatal Intervention: Collaboration between the MadresUP and e-Perinatal Projects” at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Seville, with the participation of members from both research teams. This seminar is part of the study “Intercultural...
As part of the II Seminar on Mental Health, Human Rights and Minoritized Groups, we present the report “Bodies, Borders and Gender-Based Violence: Voices of Migrant Women Arriving in Andalusia by Sea”, a study conducted by Federación Andalucía Acoge and the Center for Research and Community Action of the University...
The Department of Social Psychology of the University of Seville has awarded Elena Guichot Bordons the prize in the Bachelor’s Thesis (TFG) category as part of the First Award for Academic Excellence of Students, an initiative aimed at recognizing the academic, research, and social excellence of projects supervised by the...
The Faculty of Psychology of the University of Seville has awarded the Second Prize for Best Scientific Publication in Psychology with the participation of early-career researchers (2025) to Julia Jiménez-Ceballos, a member of CESPYD. The award decision was announced on December 5, 2025, following the evaluation of the twelve quarterly...
On Friday, December 12, 2025, the II Seminar on Mental Health, Human Rights and Minoritized Groups was successfully held at the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Seville. The event was organized by the Center for Research and Community Action of the University of Seville,...
Reference: Duque, T., Zavala-Angulo, Z., Pavón-Fernández, A., Rivero-Domínguez, M., & Paloma, V. (2025). Cuerpos, Fronteras y Violencias Basadas en el Género: Voces de Mujeres Migrantes Llegadas a Andalucía por Costa (1.0). Federación Andaluacía Acoge; Centro de Investigación y Acción Comunitaria de la Universidad de Sevilla. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17900765 This report presents the...
Virginia Paloma participated as a speaker in the final seminar of the “Joint Stories: Journeys from Fear to Fair (JeS)” project, co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme and led in Spain by INCOMA. The event was held in a hybrid format on 2 December 2025 in Helsinki, Finland. This...
Between October 28 and 30, 2025, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Òscar Prieto-Flores from the Department of Pedagogy at the University of Girona, within the framework of the PhD Program in Psychology. As part of his visit, he delivered a hybrid conference titled “The Role of Social Mentoring...
Between October 22 and 24, we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Dr. Daniela Marzana from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, as part of the PhD Program in Psychology at the University of Seville. During her visit, she delivered the hybrid lecture “Participatory Methods as Tools for...
The 1st Co-creation and Knowledge Transfer Workshop, “Towards a Feminist and Anti-racist University: Co-creating Spaces of Care, Community, and Equity”, will take place on Thursday, November 6, in the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Seville. This workshop is conceived as a space for dialogue, reflection, and...
On Thursday, October 9, the event “Promoting Active Compassion towards Migrant Realities through the Multisensory Method” will take place at the Centro de Iniciativas Culturales of the University of Seville (CICUS) and at the Faculty of Psychology. The event seeks to promote active compassion towards diverse migratory realities through the...
From July 1st to 4th, 2025, the 14th Conference of the International Society for Critical Health Psychology (ISCHP) was held at the University of Galway (Ireland). This event is a key international space for academic exchange from critical and transformative perspectives in health psychology. Within this context, Andrés Ruiz-Sánchez, PhD...
On May 16, 2025, Virginia Paloma participated as a guest speaker at the XIII Jornada de Salud Mental Perinatal organized by the Spanish Marcé Society (MARES). The event, held at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBIS) and also broadcast via streaming, brought together professionals and researchers in the field...
Virginia Paloma participated in February 2025 as a guest lecturer in the Official Master’s Program “Migration Movements in the 21st Century: Concepts, Realities, and Actions” at the University of Girona.During her stay, Virginia was invited to take part in the MOVi-MENTs Podcast, where she spoke about the challenges and interventions...
Responsible: Virginia Paloma Abstract: The presence of migrants is generating new uncertainties among citizens, who sometimes react with feelings of insecurity, fear, and rejection. This project aims to increase the level of compassion toward migrant realities shown by the university community of the University of Seville (US). Compassion involves both...
Referencia: Paloma, V., Jiménez‐ Ceballos, J., Duque, T., & Miranda, D. E. (2025). The Experience of Migrant Mothers of African Origin in Spain: A Human Rights‐based Approach to Mental Health. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12798 Abstract: Migrant mothers of African origin (MMAO) face multiple situations of vulnerability in...
On the occasion of International Migrants Day, the program i-Radiando Igualdad, broadcast on RADIUS, featured Virginia Paloma as a guest. During the program, Virginia shared the findings of the research project “The Migratory Experience of Women at the University of Seville”. This study was promoted by the University of Seville’s...
CESPYD welcomes Míra Karas from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, where she earned her Master’s degree in psychology with a specialization in counselling and school psychology. Under the mentorship of Virginia Paloma, Míra begins a five-month internship with our MadresUP team, a project focused on promoting the resilience and psychosocial...
In the context of the European project Joint eStories: Journeys from Fear to Fair (JeS), funded by the Erasmus+ Call of the European Union, Virginia Paloma has been invited by INCOMA to participate in a training in the multisensory method from November 25 to 29, 2024 at Laurea University of...
Reference: Cubero, A. & Garrido, R. (2023). Ain’t I a Woman?’: Feminist Participatory Action-Research with African Migrant Women Living in Spain. International Migration and Integration, 24, 1611–1634. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-023-01020-0 Abstract: There is a growing trend towards a feminization of migration which calls for an urgent intersectional analysis in migration and integration...
Reference: Cubero, A., Mildenberger, L., & Garrido, R. (2024). Photovoice for promoting empowerment with migrant and refugee communities: A scoping review. Action Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/14767503241269750 Abstract: Policymakers and researchers carry a significant responsibility to foster environments and opportunities that authentically enhance migrants’ sociopolitical involvement in host societies. Incorporating participatory action research...
Reference: Garrido, R., Cubero, A., & Dimuro, G. (2024). Equity in education for migrant and racialized students in Southern Spain: From multilevel analysis to participatory recommendations. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2024.2408504 Abstract: This paper aims to analyze equity in education policies and practices in Southern Spain...
The Alliance for Migration Research is an international initiative led by the SAMU Foundation (Spain) and the SAMU Foundation (USA) through its SAMU Institute for Scientific Research. Its objective is to facilitate an international collaborative environment that fosters the development of studies on migration and its impacts. The Founding Meeting...
Reference: Rochira, A., Verbena, S., Briozzo, E., De Simone, E., Esposito, F., Garrido, R., García-Ramírez, M., Paloma, V., Vargas-Moniz, M., & Mannarini, T. (2024). Multiculturalism in dominant ethnic populations: A transnational profile analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 103, 102051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.102051 Abstract: Following a person-centered approach, the present study investigates support...
Coordinator: Virginia Paloma. Duration: 2023-2026. Abstract: Latina, African migrant and Roma mothers in situations of social vulnerability have been relevant agents in our societies. However, they have often been relegated to the margins and trapped in a cycle of vulnerability during their experience of motherhood. Although the life stories of...
Reference: Paloma, V., Benítez, I., Agüero-Collins, A., López-Núñez, C., & Saavedra-Macías, F.J. (2024). Perceived detention environment and mental health of detainees in immigration detention centers in Spain. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-024-01977-3 Abstract: The increase in migratory flows worldwide has led to the creation of detention centers as...
Coordinator: Rocío Garrido Muñoz de Arenillas. Duration: 2024 Summary: CESPYD has been designated to lead the investigation of the project “THE MIGRATORY EXPERIENCE OF WOMEN IN THE US.” The University of Seville (US) has launched this initiative in response to the growing awareness of double discrimination and inequality faced by...
This article from ElDiario.es summarizes the actions carried out by CESPYD in the first phase of MadresUp project. During this stage, interviews and group sessions were conducted with African mothers who were being assisted by the Red Cross women’s shelter in Seville. Additionally, the fundamental objectives of the project are...
Coordinator: Virginia Paloma. Duration: 2023. Abstract: This project aims to find out how motherhood develops in contexts of adversity, as well as to promote the exercise of resilient motherhood among African migrant women settled in Seville. To this end, a participatory needs assessment will be carried out with 30 African...
Reference: Paloma, V., Martínez-Damia, S., de la Morena, I., López-Torres, C., & Berbel, I. (2023). A Community-based intervention to enhance posttraumatic growth among refugees in receiving societies. In R. Berger (Ed.), The Routledge International Handbook on Posttraumatic Growth (pp. 542-555). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032208688 Abstract: This chapter discusses a community-based intervention aimed...
On 29, 30 November and 1 December 2023, the 1st International Conference on African and Decolonial Studies: contributions to the deconstruction of academic thought was held at the Faculty of Psychology, where members of the CESPYD team participated as the organising committee and made scientific contributions. To overcome the...
The article “Community participation and subjective wellbeing among the immigrant population in northern Italy: An analysis of mediators”, published in the American Journal of Community Psychology by Martínez-Damia, S., Paloma, V., Luesia, J.F., Marta , E. , and Marzana, D. (https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12652), has been adapted to an informative format and published...
Reference: Martínez-Damia, S., Paloma, V., Luesia, J.F., Marta, E., & Marzana, D. (2023). Uncovering the relationship between community participation and socio-political control among the migrant population. Journal of Community Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23085 Abstract: Prior research on psychological empowerment has found that community participation is associated with socio-political control, which takes place...
Reference: Martínez-Damia, S., Marzana, D.; Paloma, V., & Marta, E. (2023). Community participation among immigrants: A generative journey towards personal growth. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101853 Abstract: Immigrants usually live under oppressive settings and experience social suffering because of the unjust socio-cultural conditions of host societies. Community participation can...
The Jesuit Service to Migrants (SJM) has presented its Annual Report 2022 on Detention Centers for Foreigners (CIE) with the title “Differences that generate inequality”; in an event held in the Parliament of Andalusia on 13 June 2023. The first Vice-President of the Chamber, Ana María Mestre, was present to...
The Jesuit Service to Migrants (SJM) has presented its 2022 Annual Report on Foreigners’ Detention Centres (CIE) in Spain, entitled ‘Inequalities that generate inequality’. In this Report, CESPYD has collaborated in anticipation of the main results of a study on the mental health of inmates, carried out in collaboration with...
Reference: Martínez-Damia, S., Marzana, D.; Paloma, V., & Marta, E. (2023). The mediating role of migrant community-based organizations: Challenges and coping strategies. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-023-00572-0 Abstract: Migrant community-based organizations (MCBOs) are key mediating structures between immigrants and host societies. However, when implementing this role...
Reference: Aceros, J.C., Duque, T. & Paloma, V. (2023). El activismo en las migrantes trabajadoras del hogar: Estudio cualitativo en el sur de España. Estudios Fronterizos, 24, e116. https://doi.org/10.21670/ref.2305116 Abstract: Domestic work is an oppressive occupational niche for migrant women. The strategies domestic workers employ to resist this situation have...
The article “The Roles of Settings in Supporting Immigrants’ Resistance to Injustice and Oppression: A policy Statement by the Society for Community Research and Action, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association”, published in the American Journal of Community Psychology, has been recognised by Wiley as one of the most...
On 16 March, the final conference of the European ATHENA project “Entrepreneurship as a Path to Socio-Economic Inclusion of Migrant Women” took place at the European Economic and Social Committee. The objective of the event was to present and discuss with the key stakeholders and European politicians the results of...
On 8 February, Virginia Paloma, coordinator of CESPYD, took part as a speaker at the 15th Conference on “Citizenship and Migratory Movements: Proposals for Coexistence and Integration”, organised by the Acción Verapaz association and the parish of San Jacinto (Seville).
CESPYD, in collaboration with the Haurralde Foundation and the Asociación Afro y Defensoras de Derechos Humanos (Colombia), has held the first preparatory meeting of the “III Ibero-American Permanent Forum of Afro-descendant Women and Human Rights Defenders”. This preparatory meeting took place in the Faculty of Psychology of the University...
Reference: Ríos-Vicente, L., Paloma, V., & Velo-Ramírez, S. (2022). Discriminación Percibida, Identidad y Satisfacción con la Vida: Una Comparación entre las Personas Senegalesas residentes en Senegal y en el sur de España [Perceived Discrimination, Identity and Life Satisfaction: A Comparison between Senegalese Residents in Senegal and Southern Spain]. En M. Adamuz-Santos...
Reference: Duque, T., Aceros, J.C., & Paloma, V. (2022). El activismo de las trabajadoras del hogar latinoamericanas. Sevilla: Asociación de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores del Hogar de Sevilla, Universidad Industrial de Santander & Universidad de Sevilla. Presentation: En primavera del año 2020 realizamos un trabajo de investigación en el que entrevistamos...
Reference: Marchi, M., Magarini, F.M., Chiarenza, A., Galeazzi, G.M., Paloma, V., Garrido, R., et al. (2022). Experience of discrimination during COVID-19 pandemic: the impact of public health measures and psychological distress among refugees and other migrants in Europe. BMC Public Health 22, 942. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13370-y. Abstract: Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has...
