International Health Humanities Network Membership

Dr. Francisco Javier Saavedra Macías is Assistant Professor at the Department of Experimental Psychology in the University of Seville and member of the Laboratory of Human Activity Research Group. He is also research fellow in the Andalusian Fundation for the Social Integration of Person with Schizophrenia where he coordinates a research project about prevalence of psychological disorder in the prision population in Andalusia. He participates in different research project about violence abuse in the domestic context and gender culture in the Andalusian School. Dr. Saavedra wrote his doctoral thesis about changes in life narratives of patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia that lives in supported house.

Dr. Saavedra is interested in caring processes in socio-cultural settings, especially discursive and communicational aspects. With regard to the interest in caring process, he is consultant of the Association for Helping Families of Chronically Ill. Amongst other activities as consultant in this association; he leads workshops and groups of familiar and professional carer in order to improve caring skills and controlling stress related to the caring. Moreover, he was professional carer of mental health patients in supporting houses during 8 years. He is interested in the use of the art and literature as therapy and as method to teach practice in mental health. He is member of the “Madness and Literature Network” in Nottingham that is founded by Arts and Humanities Research Council. He is president of the delegation in Seville of the NGO for developing of humanitarian projects “Acción Verapaz” and member of the executive committee of this organization.

He has been invited by the University of Freiburg (Germany) in 2006, University the Florence in 2007 (Italy), the University of East of London and by the Health and language Research Group of the University of Nottingham in the year 2008. During his stays in these institutions he was invited to participated in several seminar. In the year 2010 Dr. Javier Saavedra obtained Highfields fellowships of Centre of Advanced Studies and was invited scholar at the University of Nottingham.