A roadmap for better and personalized mental health care in Europe: the priorities of the European Psychiatric Association

In the last few years, European citizens have been facing several social and political challenges, such as the widespread outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the breakout of conflicts at European borders, the consequences of the economic recession, and the forced migrations of people from countries stricken by wars and poverty, which have all had documented detrimental effects on mental health.These challenging situations have added a significant burden to the mental health of the general population, and in particular to individuals already suffering from mental disorders.According to recent research [1], since 2021 the levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness have risen by about 25%, with a consequent increase in personal, social and family burden.Moreover, a 30.9% increase of years lived with disability (YLD) was reported between 2019 and 2021 in all European countries, with direct and indirect costs for mental disorders accounting for 4.1% of the gross domestic product of European Union Member States and the United Kingdom.According to the 2018 report of the Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development [2], high-and low-income countries should allocate 10% and 5% of their respective healthcare budget on mental health care.However, this target is far from being achieved by most European countries, resulting in a gap of EUR 25.9 billion.