Easy access to youth mental health services in the Netherlands

TL;DR

This paper discusses the development of accessible mental health services for youth in Europe, focusing on prevention, early intervention, and youth involvement.

Contribution

The paper introduces co-created strategies and pilot data for online and hybrid mental health platforms targeting youth.

Findings

Pilot data from online and hybrid treatment platforms for youth mental health are being collected.

Involving young people in the development of mental health services is emphasized for better outcomes.

Campaigns targeting high-risk youth groups are proposed to improve mental health awareness and help-seeking.

Abstract

Mental health problems have increased following the pandemic and are associated with considerable health, economic and societal outcomes, particularly affecting youth. In co-creation with young people several European prevention and early intervention strategies to promote mental wellbeing of youth are currently being developed. The development and implementation of easy-access youth mental services across Europe will be presented and discussed. In addition pilot data of online, hybrid treatment platforms and self-management ecological momentary intervention apps will be presented. Ultimately the aim is: 1) to develop clinical guidelines, best practices, and policy recommendations to mitigate the youth mental health challenges and 2) improve (cost-) effectiveness of early intervention strategies for promotion and prevention in mental health, including enhancing mental health literacy, resilience and self-management, while 3) actively involving young people in the process of these innovative developments. To amplify the reach, campaigns designed in co-creation with young people, to increase awareness, literacy, wellbeing and help-seeking among young people, targeting schools, further-education colleges, universities and other specific settings will need to be developed, specifically paying attention to high-risk groups within this young population, including children of parents with mental disorders, migrants, young people growing up in poverty, those in/leaving care, and the LGBTQ+ community, with coordination across domains: schools, general practitioners, and specialized mental healthcare facilities.

None Declared