The corona crisis has caused a lot of mental suffering among children and young people in Austria. A project presented by the government on Friday is intended to make it easier for those affected to access help in the future. It should start at the end of March.
More than half of young people in Austria struggle with depressive symptoms, 47 percent have sleeping problems, six out of ten suffer from eating disorders, 16 percent have repeated suicidal thoughts. This was reported by Secretary of State for Youth Claudia Plakolm (VP) at the presentation on Friday. So there is a need for action.
Last year, the Council of Ministers released 13 million euros for the psychosocial care of children and young people to deal with the psychological consequences of the pandemic, 12.2 million euros go to the “Healthy Out of the Crisis” project, 800,000 euros to the women’s health center working group.
Central point
“There’s a fire everywhere,” says Plakolm. The “Healthy Out of the Crisis” project is intended to start in the area of access to psychotherapy for children and young people up to the age of 21. A central contact point should be created that “helps young people from the initial consultation to the actual therapy,” said Plakolm. They would neither have to look for a therapy place themselves nor worry about reimbursement. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) explained that there will be a single hotline that will refer those seeking help to counseling and treatment centers.
The Federal Association for Psychotherapy and the Professional Association of Austrian Psychologists (BÖP) are involved in the project, and cooperation with school psychologists is also planned. In a first step, around 7,500 girls and boys up to the age of 22 are to be cared for across the whole of Austria, explained BÖP President Beate Wimmer-Puchinger.
Reactions to the presentation varied. The federal youth representation described the project as an “important step”, but it was “a drop in the bucket”. It covers only ten percent of actual needs. The organization SOS Children’s Villages reacted in a similar way: The concept was to be welcomed, but the goal of reaching 7,500 affected people was too small. An expansion strategy is needed.
SPÖ and FPÖ also stated that the project was not far-reaching enough and came too late, and the Neos also described it as “not ambitious enough”.
The day before the presentation, the Diakonie had requested one billion euros for children’s health and the expansion of therapy places.
Source: Nachrichten
