Two ICS researchers are conducting stays at the Portuguese universities of Braga and Coimbra

Portugal has been the destination chosen by María Ángeles Cueli Naranjo and Juan Pablo Domínguez to further their research in the fields of psychology and history, respectively. Cueli, a researcher with group "Infinity: Family, Love, and Sexuality" at the Institute for Culture and Society at the University of Navarra, has continued to develop her thesis on couples therapy at the School of Psychology at the University of Minho in Braga. For his part, Domínguez, researcher Religion and Civil Society, has made progress in his study on the image of Iberian intolerance at the Center for the History of Society and Culture at the University of Coimbra.

Cueli, who traveled to Braga at the end of August, has spent the last three months working with the research group research Processes in research ," under the supervision of Professor Miguel M. Gonçalves, an international leader in the area research He chose this destination because of the opportunity it offered him to "establish strategic alliances that strengthen research couples therapy through innovative methods in this field."

Specifically, both the predoctoral researcher and other members of Infinity received training in the Innovative Moments Coding System (IMCS) and the Ambivalence Coding System (ACS). "These are qualitative tools created mainly by Professor Gonçalves and his team, widely used in individual therapy to analyze core topic moments core topic change and ambivalence in speech , speech explains Cueli.

In this regard, he highlights that "this new partnership has allowed partnership to begin studying these microprocesses for the first time in the context of emotion-focused couples therapy, with the aim of not only contributing novel scientific findings, but also enriching internship in this model." The data were collected in theE(f)FECTS essay framework (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT04277325), developed by the ICS in partnership Brigham Young University (United States).

Cueli, who was captivated by the cultural life and nature surrounding Braga, considers the stay to be "highly productive." "The work with Professor Gonçalves and his research team has allowed research to acquire new methodological tools for the development my thesis , as well as specific knowledge of different lines of research to this area study."

Iberian intolerance

Juan Pablo Domínguez lived in Coimbra from February to July to study the topic of Iberian intolerance alongside the leading expert on the Portuguese Inquisition, Pedro José Paiva, director Center for the History of Society and Culture. "I have researched how the idea of Spain as the most intolerant country in Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries was constructed. Although I have mainly focused on the 17th and 19th centuries, during my stay I concentrated more on the origins of this idea, which has become commonplace," explains the historian. To study this issue, he explains that he has focused "on the contrast between this idea of Spain as an extremely intolerant country compared to the Netherlands or England, which are perceived as very tolerant."

Domínguez considered work in Coimbra to be core topic his work because "there was always an unresolved issue: Portugal shared this image with Spain. In many 18th- and 19th-century texts, both are singled out at the same time as prime examples of intolerance." However, unlike Spain, in Portugal "there is nothing like the idea of a black legend, even though they have the historical facts to say the same thing. And I'm interested in knowing why."

Therefore, conducting research alongside leading specialists in the Portuguese Inquisition has provided an opportunity to enrich his analysis and access new texts held in the Library of the University of Coimbra. His study has allowed him not only to compare both cases but also to examine the report both: "I am interested in seeing where that image comes from and what political uses it has had throughout history, as well as those it has today."

Both researchers highlight the warmth and friendliness they encountered at Portuguese universities. "I loved hearing about and learning from our common roots with Portuguese because it made me feel at home," says Cueli, who is from Havana. Domínguez points out that, "although Coimbra looks a little run-down, you soon discover its beauty. It has been a wonderful stay." Cueli was able to carry out his research stay to a mobility scholarship from the Government of Navarra, and Domínguez received financial aid mobility from staff professor researcher the University of Navarra.