The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, Oswaldo Betancort, along with the Minister of Social Welfare and Inclusion, Marci Acuña; the Director General of Mental Health and Addictions of the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), Fernando Gómez-Pamo, and the Director of the School of Health and Social Services of the Canary Islands (ESSSCAN), José Montelongo, inaugurated this Thursday, October 1, the ‘II Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health, Resilience and Prevention of Suicidal Behavior’, held in Lanzarote and attended by more than 250 people.
Organized by ESSSCAN in collaboration with the Cabildo of Lanzarote, these conferences brought together professionals from different fields such as socio-health, education, and sports to analyze suicide prevention strategies and the promotion of emotional well-being for the entire population.
Betting on prevention and support
Fernando Gómez-Pamo, Director General of Mental Health and Addictions of the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), explained that “suicide is considered a major public health problem, which when it occurs results in the loss of a life, leaving a deep mark on families, their environment, and society as a whole”.
In this regard, he recalled that the SCS continues to work to ensure that the approach to mental health is comprehensive, accessible, and based on prevention. “Conferences like this are fundamental to continue training those on the front lines, equipping them with tools and knowledge that allow them to act with sensitivity, rigor, and effectiveness in risk situations,” he stressed.
He also reported that, according to the Epidemiological Report on Suicidal Behavior in the Canary Islands, the suicide rate in the islands stood at 10.09 per 100,000 inhabitants, a decrease compared to the previous year. “This is a trend that is consolidating in the year-on-year variation of the last two years, with a decrease in suicide by 25 percent in the Canary Islands during this period. Thus, in 2024 there was a reduction of 7.8 percent compared to 2023, while in 2025 there has been a decrease of 17.3 percent. Although the data for 2025 are still provisional, such figures usually have a high correlation with the definitive data”.
For his part, the director of ESSSCAN, José Montelongo, thanked the collaboration of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and stated that “these conferences, which are in their second edition, represent a space for meeting and reflection in which professionals from different fields, from their daily work, can exchange experiences in detecting situations of emotional vulnerability. “From ESSSCAN, we continue to intensify training in mental health and are committed to initiatives like this one, which increase knowledge and response capacity to suicidal behavior. Furthermore, they contribute to protecting the emotional well-being of citizens”.
Content of the conferences
The ‘II Conferences on the Promotion of Mental Health, Resilience and Prevention of Suicidal Behavior’ feature a total of seven presentations through which a review is made of some of the factors that contribute to reducing suicidal behavior.
Psychiatrist Eduardo Vera is in charge of the presentation ‘Sow hope and you will have mental health: protective and preventive factors for good mental health’ and physiotherapist and writer Lorena Curbelo of ‘Literature that accompanies mental health: stories that save silences’.
‘Understanding our brain to protect our mental health: neuropsychological keys’ is the talk by psychologist Ana Isabel Moneo and psychopedagogue Calixto Herrera gives 'When the context also makes us sick: mental health in the face of the challenges of a distracted world’.
The event is closed by psychologist María Isabel Santana, who analyzes the study ‘Prevention of suicidal behavior and promotion of Mental Health in compulsory secondary education centers on the island of Lanzarote and La Graciosa’, and psychologist and trained in Gestalt Therapy, Cristina Bermúdez, with ‘The voice that lives in me. How to transform internal dialogue into an ally for mental health’.
During his speech, the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, stated that "preventing suicidal behavior also means knowing how to listen, because breaking the silence saves lives. We must continue creating spaces that help break silences and prejudices, especially when we talk about situations that can affect our young people and their families".
"That is why it is so important," added Betancort, "that professionals from different fields can share knowledge and experiences and that we all build an increasingly close and effective care network".
For his part, the Minister of Social Welfare and Inclusion, Marci Acuña, stressed the importance of these conferences "which will allow us to delve into the care of our mental health, share knowledge and tools and, above all, continue to advance in the prevention of suicidal behavior through information, awareness and early detection”.
Acuña highlighted that “talking about mental health naturally, breaking down stigmas and generating spaces for listening and support is fundamental to building a more conscious and committed society with people's well-being".
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