Postcard: Barcelona Dreams
Prof. Kris Anderson [psychology] journeyed to Barcelona as part of Â鶹¹ú²úAV’s faculty research exchange. Her visit to a residential treatment facility there taught her about the universality of the struggle to overcome addiction.
I spent almost two weeks in Spain in March 2024 as part of Â鶹¹ú²úAV’s new faculty research exchange program. I had an amazing time in Barcelona getting to know my exchange partner, Dr. Noemí Pereda from the University of Barcelona. In addition to research meetings and presenting my own work, I had the opportunity to see quite a bit of Barcelona (including Palau de la Música Catalana), visit with Â鶹¹ú²úAV students in Â鶹¹ú²úAV’s Barcelona Universities Program, and participate in the International Women’s Day March with members of Noemí’s lab. The most poignant part of my trip was a day spent at Projecte Home Catalunya, a residential treatment community for individuals living with addiction. As I wrote at that time, “While most of us did not share the same language, one thing was quite clear: The pain of addiction is universal, hope in recovery is the same everywhere, and the connection between people doing this work transcends culture.”