Network of child psychiatry services in south-eastern Europe

This article concerns the organisation of child psychiatry services in the region of south-eastern Europe. It is evident that the situation in different countries varies widely, from well-organized systems to a complete absence of professionals in the field of child psychiatry. Furthermore, the article will discuss the necessity to carry out reform in order to organize mental health care for children and adolescents. The emphasis is on the tendency to harmonize standards as much as possible in all countries of the region. The lack of proper legislation on mental health care is also pointed out. The article concludes with information on the first concrete actions, carried out by professors from the Children's Clinic at the Eppendorf University in Hamburg and the Deutsche Akademische Austausch Dinst (DAAD), which provides education by gathering representatives of child psychiatry services from the entire region. The goal is to define and agree on concrete ways of service networking for the entire region. An emphasis is placed on the education of professionals.