Attention to young university students studying Pedagogy-Psychology in post-COVID-19 times

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic changes in people's living conditions and mental health. In higher education, students presented stress due to the cancellation of teaching, work and extension activities. Objective: apply academic, extension actions linked to psychotherapies of various types, in young university students in the Pedagogy-Psychology degree in post-COVID-19 times. Methods: a descriptive and cross-sectional observational study was carried out at the “José Martí Pérez” University of Sancti Spíritus during the year 2021. Theoretical and empirical methods were applied: a psychological test and academic and extension actions in the context of the “Smile” Project of attention to vulnerable communities. Results: the circumstances caused by COVID-19 influenced the behavior and mental health of the sampled students: anxiety disorders were observed due to prolonged interruption of studies compared to in-person forms of the teaching-learning process, academic indices decreased, and Safety and motivation for the study were affected, among other manifestations, so actions related to the “Smile” project and psychotherapy were applied in association with academic and extension activities. Conclusions: the actions applied led to positive changes in the lives of the university students in the sample. An effective transformation was achieved essentially related to greater coherence and participation in various activities in the group, and incorporation of others who were isolated from the planned and performed extension activities.