The III Congress on Mental Health: Meeting the Needs of the XXI Century with the motto “Children, Society and Future” has been postponed for 8-10 October 2021. The unique global interdisciplinary scientific event will be held in Moscow, Russia to follow the major strategies for the mental health of children and adolescents reflected in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in a number of global documents of UN system organizations, including the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan for 2013–2020 (http://www.mental-health-congress.ru/en/).

“Congresses dealing with mental health are very rarely bringing together all the stakeholders of the promotion of mental health - the ministries of education, social welfare and health, the societies of professionals - psychologists, psychiatrists, educational specialists, patient and family organizations, as well as scientists and practitioners in the field of mental health from many countries. This alone should be a sufficient reason to join the congress: but there are three more - first, the focus of the congress in 2020 will be the promotion of mental health of children and adolescents whose mental health seems to have deteriorated in many countries; second, the congress also represents a step to respond to the United Nations inclusion of mental health among sustainable goals for all its members; and third, according to preliminary indications the congress will attract a highly respectable number of leading specialists involved in this field”, - as reflected in the Welcome address of Professor NORMAN SARTORIUS, President of the Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes, Honorable Chairman of the International Organizing Committee.

The framework of the Congress will involve an exchange of experience in the best research and practical achievements in the field of early diagnosis and prevention of mental disorders in childhood and adolescence, as well as treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation of children and adolescents with mental disabilities. In addition, it is planned to devise approaches to advanced training of specialists and non-specialists and to prepare recommendations for the development of national strategies that would involve families, schools, governments, and society in solving mental health problems of the younger generation.“I do believe that joint efforts of scientists and practitioners, the governments and society, with the use of interdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches, will help not only to discuss the medical and non-medical problems of child and adolescent mental health, but also to develop recommendations for their solution”- from the Welcome address of NATALIA TREUSHNIKOVA, President of the Union for Mental Health of Russia.

Eight critical components are addressed for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation for the physical, psychological, social, economic and spiritual health and resilience of children and adolescents including (i) Prevention of mental disorders to promote the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents; (ii) Treatment and rehabilitation for the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents; (iii) The mental health and well-being of gifted children; (iv) The mental health and well-being of children and adolescents in difficult life situations; (v) The impact of sports on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents; (vi) The impact of culture and art on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents; (vii) The role of education in the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents; and (viii) Legal, economic and policy frameworks concerning the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.

“Union for Mental Health needs special appreciation for continuing with high level of educational and training programmes in the entire field of mental health. Like the previous meetings, the coming event will be another remarkable effort with its special focus on Children, Society and Future. The theme of the Congress “Youth Mental Health and Well-being: Policy, Best Practices and Partnerships Worldwide” is of high relevance to the imperatives of our times. The future of our world is in the hands of young people and hence mental health and well-being of children and adolescents is a matter of priority for all of us. The suggested plans for academic & clinical discussions at the meeting about prevention, promotion & interventions for mental health problems of children and adolescents will certainly lead to the timely management of such difficulties & clinical disorders in this population. It will also facilitate increase in improving social skills and personal well-being right from an early stage”, as Dr. AFZAL JAVED, the WPA President Elect has noted in his Welcome address.

The internationally recognized mental health professionals will discuss approaches and evidence-based practices for preserving and enhancing the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents, necessary for the healthy development of families, communities and societies and the future of human civilization. The International Organizing Committee is presented by Norman Sartorius, President of the Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes (Switzerland); Shekhar Saxena, Professor of the Practice of Global Mental Health, Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health (USA); Bruno Falissard, Immediate Past President of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions IACAPAP, Director of the Center for Epidemiology and Population Health (France); Afzal Javed, President Elect of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) (UK); Helen Herrman, President of the WPA (Australia); Sabine Bährer-Kohler, President of the Swiss Association for Mental Health- Global Mental Health (Switzerland); Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, Secretary General of the WPA (India); Rachid Bennegadi, President of the World Association of Social Psychiatry (WASP) (France); Juan E. Mezzich, Secretary General of the International College of Person Centered Medicine (USA); David M. Clark, Director of the Oxford Center for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma University of Oxford (UK); Judy Kuriansky, Main representative of the International Association of Applied Psychology and the World Council of Psychotherapy to the United Nations (USA); Christine Roland-Lévy, President of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) (France); Antonio E. Puente, Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Past President of the American Psychological Association (USA), and the other prominent scientists and practitioners in the field of mental health.

“The Congress on Mental Health: Meeting the Needs of the XXI Century is a unique moment where people can meet together, from different cultures, from countries with different resources, but all much involved in mental health. Unformal and free discussions are the necessary cement that put together the bricks that comes from scientific research. This congress will be the occasion to find both: friends open for discussion, and up to date scientific knowledge presented in a clear and synthetic way”, from the Welcome address of BRUNO FALISSARD, Past President of the International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP).

The Congress has been honored to be co-sponsored by the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), the World Association of Social Psychiatry (WASP), the World Council for Psychotherapy (WCP), the Action for Mental Health (AMH), the World Association for Dynamic Psychiatry (WADP), the International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP), the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), and the International College of Person Centered Medicine (ICPCM), and to be supported by the Ministries of Health, Labor and Social Security, Education, Science and Higher Education, Culture, and Sport of the Russian Federation. The attendees of the Congress will be specialists in medical and non-medical fields concerned with mental health and well-being of children and adolescents from different sectors as well as government, business and community sectors leaders from more than 30 countries.

Eight international conferences will be held under the Congress. The scientists and practitioners will discuss precisely all the problems associated to child and adolescent mental health and well-being including the need for early involvement of the child, starting from the prenatal period, in the process of directed optimization of the development of his nervous system and psyche; executive functions that are crucial for the development of the child and his success in school; prematurity cases, potentially carrying a higher risk of ASD, ADHD and other mental disorders at different stages of ontogenesis, including childhood psychoses, and disorders of mental development at an early age; sociopsychological specificity of suicidal behavior; manifestations of aggression and auto-aggression, protest and refusal reactions, adolescent alcoholism, eating disorders; early diagnosis and prevention of affective disorders in adolescents and the other disorders occurred in this age group of population . Special attention will be paid to negative life events in the framework of the family functioning of adolescents. “Mental health conditions or mental health problems account for 16%-20% of the global burden of disease and injury in young people aged 10–19 years. Mental health problems of a child or adolescent can be very difficult and demanding for parents. Parents caring for children or adolescents with mental health problems is burdensome. For example, to realize and accept mental health diseases or in getting both their child’s and their own needs met, to empower themselves, to handle self-stigmatization, stigmatization, and other barriers. The overload for a longer time from an imbalance between perceived demands and resources can influence anger, frustration, worry, guilt, and sadness directed toward the children or adolescents, and other family members”, Prof. Dr. Sabine Bährer-Kohler, President of the Swiss Association for Mental Health- Global Mental Health, the member of the International Organizing Committee, has highlighted in the report.

The researchers will examine also the current state of the problem of compliance to psychopharmacological treatment in parents of children with mental disorders and the provision of the most effective and safe psychiatric care for children and adolescents; somato-endocrine correction methods; psychological problems of childhood is mental retardation and clinical and genetic studies, in particular, of patients with mental underdevelopment with chromosomal syndromes; psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery approaches, and the other problems associated with treatment, rehabilitation and recovery of mental disorders and developmental disorders in children and adolescents. The special attention will be paid to the mental health and well-being of gifted children and children in difficult life situatio.

The Congress invites all specialists in medical and non-medical fields concerned with mental health and well-being of children and adolescents to contribute in policy, best practices and partnerships worldwide! We will do our best to make sure that you enjoy your work and have a rewarding rest in Moscow!