10 October marks World Mental Health Day. Our European members have gathered together in Copenhagen, Denmark where Børns Vilkår are hosting this year’s Regional Consultation of Child Helplines in Europe. The opening session is focusing on an increasingly important issue for child helplines – in Europe, and around the globe: “Mental Health, Child Helplines and Child Rights.”
Mental health is essential to a child’s overall wellbeing, influencing their development, educational outcomes and future prospects. Left unaddressed, mental health problems in childhood can lead to long-term psychological and physical health issues. Some alarming trends are emerging which highlight the struggles faced by children and young people today with regards to their mental health and wellbeing. Over the past few years, the Covid-19 pandemic and its legacy, together with increasing societal pressures, have all exacerbated issues such as anxiety, depression and loneliness among children and young people. Therefore, making sure that children and young people have access to mental health support has become more important – and urgent – than ever.
Mental health concerns remain one of the two main reasons why children and young people reach out and make contact with child helplines (the other is violence). In fact, child helplines are often the first point of contact for children and young people seeking help, offering a safe space where they can express their emotions and receive support, anonymously and without fear of judgment. Because they are so easily accessible, child helplines can provide a literal lifeline to children and young people in distress, helping them to obtain the immediate psychological support, guidance and referrals to necessary services they need.
Child helplines’ services are especially crucial for vulnerable groups, including children experiencing violence or neglect, and those from marginalized communities for whom access to traditional mental health services may be limited.
The growing mental health crisis among children highlights the need for stronger support systems, where child helplines play a key role. They act not only as a crisis response tool but also as a preventive service, helping to identify mental health issues early and ensuring that children receive timely interventions. Given the importance of mental health for the holistic development of children, it is imperative to strengthen and expand the capacity of child helplines to meet the increasing demand for their services.
In Copenhagen today we are exploring the current role of child helplines in supporting children’s mental health, examining the gaps that exist and identifying the policy recommendations that will help child helplines to enhance their impact. In the coming weeks we will be publishing our European Mental Health Report, in which we will present data on mental health contacts to our child helpline members in Europe and also how these mental health contacts have varied over time, from 2019 to 2021.
Patrick Krens
Executive Director
