Help for mentally distressed young people

The coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy and climate crisis – these are just a few examples of what is troubling people around the world. This affects children and young people in a particular way, increasing their psychological stress, as research has shown. "Children and adolescents with mental health problems are facing a support system that has been overburdened for years and has reached its limits even more during the pandemic," says Prof. Dr Julia Asbrand from the University of Jena. However, an important step has now been taken in Thuringia to improve the care of children and adolescents with mental health problems: Thuringia's first psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic for children, adolescents and families will officially open at Friedrich Schiller University Jena on 27 September.

Not yet open, but already in high demand

The university outpatient clinic was able to come into being due to changes in the Psychotherapists Act "and because the state has given us intensive support," emphasizes Prof. Asbrand, who initiated and heads the outpatient clinic. The Professor of Clinical Psychology in Childhood and Adolescence thanks the responsible state ministries for the funding. However, she also points out how necessary it was to establish the clinic: "Our outpatient clinic will be able to make an important contribution to care. We have already received a lot of enquiries. Although our capacities are still limited during the start-up phase, we are confident that we will be able to expand them in the future."

Young people help determine research topics

In addition to providing care for patients, the university outpatient centre also aims to train new psychotherapists. "The graduates of the master's degree programme will help shape future care," Julia Asbrand is certain. And in order to improve the quality of psychotherapeutic treatments, intensive research is being carried out in collaboration with the university outpatient clinic. The aim is to develop innovative prevention and therapy concepts. As this works best when those affected are involved in the research from the outset, Prof. Asbrand and her team are focusing on participatory research in which the young people have a say in what is researched.

"By asking children and young people what research they find important and what worries them, we came up with the topic of social media, for example," says Asbrand, explaining what is now being incorporated into the research programme. In addition, the researchers in Jena also focus on anxiety and depression as well as growing up in times of global crisis. "We want to gain a better understanding of why internalizing diseases, such as depression and anxiety disorders, develop in childhood and adolescence, what maintains them and how they can be treated most effectively. We also want to understand what impact global crises have on the mental health of young people and what preventative strategies can be derived from this in dealing with crises."

Expert conference marks the opening

All of this will be discussed during the opening ceremony on 27 September, which Health Minister Heike Werner is also expected to attend. This event is less about celebrating and more about training and networking – in order to work together towards the goal of improving the mental health of young people in Thuringia.