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1. National strategy(ies)

2. Improving the mental health of young people

National strategy(ies)

There is no national strategy in Slovakia to address the mental health of young people yet. The document Vision and development strategy of Slovakia up to 2030 - a long-term strategy for sustainable development of th Slovak Republic - Slovakia 2030 contains this goals concerning mental health:

• to establish a system of systematic prevention, early diagnosis and intervention, including education system concerning healthy lifestyle and mental health, including the fight against addictions;

• to increase the availability of mental health care in the health-disorder continuum.

Mental health care is one of the top priorities of Slovakia's recovery plan is health for all. 

There is currently no national document aimed at improving exclusively the mental health of youth. There are, however, several initiatives that might help to support services and mental health prevention for this target group.

In the past, National Mental Health Program was implemented in Slovakia, which partially addressed the theme of mental health of children and youth. In 2021, The Council of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Mental Health was established by the Government of the Slovak Republic as its permanent advisory body, which should perform coordination, consultative and professional tasks in the field of mental health protection and prevention, mental disorders prevention, psychological assessment, mental disorders treatment and aftercare. The activities of the Council are focused on patients with mental disorders, mental health research, training of mental health professionals and services, mental health policy-making and quality monitoring in these areas, including children and youth.

In the National Action Plan for Children for the period 2013 – 2017 one of the objectives was to support children's health: "to strengthen the mental health of adolescents by informing and removing barriers concerning pupils with behavioural disorders". The responsible body was the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. 

Similarly to the situation in other countries, children and adolescents in Slovakia are considered vulnerable groups, however, often they do not have adequate access to appropriate prevention and intervention because the availability of mental health services for children and youth is limited. In Slovakia, there is one Clinic of Pediatric Psychiatry in Bratislava providing both complex clinical service and research. Another institution providing support for professionals in education and research is the Research Institute of Child Psychology and Pathopsychology. The institute activities cover mainly methodological guidance and coordination of all components of the system of educational counselling and prevention centres including the support of mental health activities in the school system. These are supported also by the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic that created application aids for mental health promotion in schools for teachers.

Slovakia is also a part of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) initiative, HBSC uses its findings to inform policy and practice to improve the lives of millions of young people. The data from Slovak children and adolescents are available since 2005/2006 (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (hbscslovakia.com)). The study covers also topics related to mental health and well-being.

Activities of non-profit organizations, universities and other stakeholders

The League for Mental Health Slovakia is a non-governmental organization and its projects are partially supported by state funds (through grant schemes). The activities are focused on the mental health of children and youth as well. The League for Mental Health Slovakia implements their  projects or cooperates with other organizations:

1. Online Counseling Centre of League for Mental Health Nezábudka/Forget-me-not - anonymous and free Internet Advisory service where experts offer consultations. Young people often write to get advice on their psychological problems (in schools, families). 
2. Information campaigns on mental health – Days of Forget-me-not  - information campaign Mental Health Days are held on the occasion of World Mental Health Day. The campaign is linked to a fundraising public collection. From the yield of the collection, the organization supports the improvement of care for people with mental disorders across all of the Slovak regions.
3. Project How to cope with crises and conflicts (2017) organized in cooperation with the Faculty of Psychology of the Pan-European University for 600 secondary school students from 20 secondary schools – providing lectures and discussions for different student groups.
4. Zippy's Friends (since 2013) is a program of the British organization Partnership for Children organized, it is offered in about 30 countries around the world including Slovakia. It helps children to be able to better express and understand their emotions, process various stressful social situations, get along with peers, siblings, parents and other people.

Student Council for Higher Education together with the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Association of Psychology Students and Graduates, the Slovak Association of Pharmacy Students, the Slovak Association of Medical Students, the UPJŠ University Counseling Center and non-governmental organization Trojlístok started a project addressing the topic of mental health among university students. Their main goal is to improve the conditions for mental health care and destigmatization. They publish infographics on various topics in this area. 

Mental Health at Comenius University (2018 and 2020) – a research project aimed to monitor mental health among university students and share information about mental health services for students.

Youth delegate to the WHO - Since May 2020, the Slovak Republic has established the first youth delegate to the WHO for the period 2020/2021, whose task is to represent Slovak youth at the WHO and at the same time to raise awareness on mental and global health issues among young people in Slovakia through peer activities.

Don´t panic (Nepanikar) – a mobile app created in the Czech Republic, which is available also in the Slovak language. It contains first quick psychological help for people with depression, anxiety or panic, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and eating disorders. The application also provides contacts of psychologists and other mental health services.

Child Safety Line (Linka detskej istoty) – a nonstop phone line where professionals help children and young people in difficult situations.

IPčko is a civic association created by volunteers - psychologists and social workers, who offer online counselling for young people. Ipčko services for youth include:

1. Good line (Dobrá linka) - a psychological internet counselling for young people with disabilities (counselling without barriers).
2. Crisis helpline (Krízová linka pomoci) – helpline provides anonymous, non-stop and free psychological help and support to people or their loved ones who have found themselves in a crisis. Counselling is available on phone, as an online chat, e-mail or video chat.
3. It happened (stalosato.sk) - a site aimed at providing information and assistance in sexual violence against children and young people in the online space to support online safety for young people online.
4. I want to kill myself (Chcem sa zabiť.sk) - a portal aimed at helping young people who find themselves at the crossroads of life and do not want or cannot go further. The portal offers a map of help with contacts of mental health professionals and services in different parts of the country.
5. Contact point (Káčko) – a contact point for people in crises. It is a bridge that connects different types of IPčko services: Crisis Helpline, Good Line and face-to-face psychological counselling.