SARA
SAEZ VELASCO

I have a degree in Psychology from the University of Salamanca and a Doctorate in Educational Sciences "Cum Laude" from the University of Burgos, as well as an Extraordinary Doctorate Award in the field of Social and Legal Sciences. I also have a Master's degree in Psychotherapy Interventions from the University of Salamanca and a Diploma of Higher Education in Early Childhood Care from the Autonomous University of Madrid. I am qualified as a General Health Psychologist and accredited as an Expert Psychologist in the Psychology of Social Intervention (COP). I began my professional career working in rural areas as a coordinator and stimulator with children aged 0–3 with developmental delays or disabilities in an Early Attention Team dependent on the Territorial Management of Social Services of Castilla y León. I then worked as a technician in the Child Protection Section (Territorial Management of Social Services of Burgos), assessing cases involving children at serious risk of neglect or abandonment, and intervening with their families. I then worked for almost ten years as a psychologist at the Nuevo Futuro Association, caring for children and adolescents separated from their families due to abuse and/or neglect, and coordinating and supporting the educational teams of the three homes that the association has in Burgos. During some of those years, I combined this work with my role as an Associate Professor in the Department of Developmental Psychology and Education at the University of Burgos. Since September 2023, I have worked exclusively as full-time teaching and research staff at the UBU Faculty of Education. In terms of my research, I would like to highlight my participation in a study investigating the prevalence of primary tics and associated comorbidities in children and adolescents, as well as their relationship with academic difficulties. This study was funded by the Health Research Fund (Project No. P10770486) and the Regional Health Management (Project No. GRS 157/A/07). Building on this project, I wrote my doctoral thesis, which was entitled 'Quality of life and its relationship with tics: a study of the prevalence of tics, comorbidity, and their association with self-perceived and parental quality of life in the child and adolescent population in 2019'. I would like to highlight my recent participation in several European projects: 360 REWIN: Resilient Immigrant Women Interventions for Inclusion, led by UBU (2022–2025), and my role as co-investigator in the ISA Culture Project: Intellectually and Socially Accessible. On the Way to Equality: Culture as a Tool for Social Inclusion and Labour Integration (2023–2025). I have published several articles, most of which are indexed in the most relevant catalogues in the field of social sciences (JCR, Scopus) and national databases (DICE, In-Recs, ISOC).My lines of research include: quality of life in children and adolescents and its relationship with academic performance; development of professional identity in university students within the framework of academic tutoring; social inclusion of vulnerable groups through culture; and the role of generative AI in arts education in higher education.