Panel

Listening to stakeholders to create sustainable change for children and adolescents: The CAMHI experience in Greece

Thursday June 22, 09:20, Stavros Niarchos Hall GNO

During the session, mental health professionals from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative (CAMHI) underscored the importance of robust methodology in program design and discussed the landscape analysis conducted. This analysis utilized both qualitative and quantitative data from various stakeholders, including parents, teachers, children, adolescents, and mental health professionals, to assess risk and protective factors. The vision extends beyond assessing needs; it is to enhance access to mental health services, establish a robust referral system, and create a network of these services. Grounded in the landscape analysis, CAMHI aims to meet the needs and preferences of the population through basic and advanced trainings, with a vision for extending this impact nationwide. The goal is to increase services across Greece and to equip non-mental-health practitioners, like doctors and nurses, to address mental health issues using the CAMHI network. In closing, emphasis was placed on listening to the voices of the youth, recognizing their mental health as not a luxury but a fundamental human right, with the YES program focusing on tackling stress and anxiety.