Mental illnesses are among the most common health problems in children and adolescents worldwide, and their prevalence has recently increased. At the same time, many countries face gaps in care and a shortage of services. To address these challenges, countries are developing child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) strategies and adopting their models of care. This paper aimed to give an international overview of these strategies and care models to support decision makers and stimulate mutual learning and improved CAMH care.

We identified core topics within published CAMH strategies and care model documents from seven selected countries within the Global North, which represented different healthcare systems, geographical regions, and public health traditions to maximize variety. We systematically extracted data on the identified topics and summarized them narratively by applying qualitative content analyses.

The documents addressed the following core topics: awareness raising activities; prevention and promotion; detection; treatment; telemedicine; care pathways; transitional psychiatry; vulnerable patient groups; user participation; infrastructure; workforce development; implementation; digital tools for case management; and data acquisition and research. A stand-alone CAMH strategy exists in most countries.

Recommendations on CAMH care often followed a public mental health approach and placed a high priority on mental health promotion and cross-sectional organization and funding of CAMH care services. Key principles of future CAMH care included: increased flexibility of care settings; early intervention; an open and non-judgmental attitude among staff; and strengths orientation instead of focusing on deficits and diagnoses.

Reducing the prevalence of mental illness and current shortcomings in care requires action at the policy level (e.g., developing a CAMH strategy with a focus on mental health promotion and installing cross-sectoral governance), organizational level (e.g., reorganizing treatment settings and pathways of care), and individual level (e.g., strengthening user involvement and workforce development). Applying the recommended approaches in other countries will likely require redesign, ideally with a participatory approach and evaluation alongside piloting.