We have opened new premises of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre at Trg mladinskih delovnih brigad 7, which will enable children, adolescents and their parents to receive better care in one place.

The services that were previously provided in various units of the Community Health Centre Ljubljana are now all offered at Trg mladinskih delovnih brigad 7, only the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre at Metelkova ulica 9 remains in operation. Namely, the centre is visited by parents with children with developmental, speech or learning difficulties, emotional or behavioural disorders and various hardships, which are increasing in number. The new premises enable even better care for young patients, as a team of experts (clinical psychologists, psychologists, specialist teachers, social workers, speech therapists, nurses and many others) work here, and team treatments, among other things, take less time, and are more efficient and personal. At the same time, with improved working conditions, employees will be able to carry out work processes at an even higher level of quality and safety. The value of the investment is around 250 thousand euros.

Mental health care comes first

The event was attended by Prime Minister Dr. Robert Golob, Minister of Health Dr. Valentina Prevolnik Rupel, Mayor of the City of Ljubljana Zoran Janković, Director of the Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Dr. Antonija Poplas Susič, Head of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre at the Vič-Rudnik unit, dr. Andreja Mikuž, and many others.

In his statement, Prime Minister Dr. Robert Golob pointed out that in the children's parliament, young people always put mental health first, as it is a big problem. Therefore, he believes that the opening of new premises in Ljubljana together with the expansion of the teams is great news. »From day one, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has paid special attention to mental health, which is why one of the first measures taken by the government was to increase the number of specializations in clinical psychology, we significantly eased the legislation in the field of employment of foreigners, and we are finalizing the drafting of a law on psychotherapy, which will allow access to the appropriate services for those who need it«, he added.

Minister of Health Dr. Valentina Prevolnik Rupel said on this occasion: »I am glad that the opening of the renovated premises enables high-quality multidisciplinary treatment in one place so that every child or young person who walks through these doors will receive the highest standard of assistance. This is particularly important for them, which is why, in order to improve accessibility to mental health services, we at the Ministry of Health have provided financial resources with this year's Regulation to expand the network and better evaluate the program of child and adolescent mental health centres operating at the primary level of health care.«
The Mayor of the City of Ljubljana Zoran Janković, expressed his satisfaction that we have enough teams for this type of treatment and said that the City of Ljubljana will also provide the additional space. He added that he would prefer that young people would not need these premises at all, that is, that they would not have any problems, but unfortunately, that is not the case.

Director of the Community Health Centre Ljubljana Prof. Dr. Antonija Poplas Susič emphasized that in the new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, a multidisciplinary team helps young people in one place when they find themselves in distress, which is unfortunately happening more and more often. When young people need help, they need help and support from parents and relatives, but they also need expert help from people who are professionally trained to address the different levels of these extremely complex distresses and emotional states that children and families find themselves in. »We want to continue to put together additional multidisciplinary teams with highly qualified professionals so that the assistance offered to children and young people will be faster and better,« she emphasized. The Head of the officially opened Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre of the Vič-Rudnik unit, Dr. Andreja Mikuž, thanked all her colleagues and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, the Minister of Health and the Mayor of the City of Ljubljana, who, with their presence, send a message to all residents of the Republic of Slovenia, that the mental health of children is important both for the government and the local community.

Bringing experts together in one place

At the Community Health Centre Ljubljana, special attention is paid to protecting the health of children and adolescents. For 65 years, they have been working in multidisciplinary teams in cooperation with diverse services and the local community, also in caring for the most vulnerable – children and adolescents with various hardships, with mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders. As the need for this kind of support grows, they develop and expand programs and services and thus contribute to the protection and preservation of the mental health of children, adolescents and their families. Bringing professionals together in one location is essential for effective teamwork, which is the norm in mental health. Only by connecting different experts around the child and the family and other environments in which the child is included can we organize effective forms of support for healthy development and prevent the development and deepening of mental disorders.

Even heroes and heroines need help

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre thus offers comprehensive professional assistance, and various campaigns that raise awareness of this topic also help to destigmatize mental health problems. Among them is the campaign Heroes and heroines also need help, with which we communicate that no one should be left alone in times of distress, as various forms of assistance provided by non-governmental organizations are also available in Ljubljana. As part of the campaign, we also invite you to listen to podcasts on this topic.