One of the problems that characterizes today’s society is mental illness. In fact, 20.8% of Spanish youth – in particular, more than one in five girls and two in ten boys – suffer from some type of mental health problem. In addition, 70% of cases begin in childhood and adolescence, according to data from the report “Approach to mental health in Spain”, prepared by the Institute for Health Development and Integration of the IDIS Foundation.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) indicates that approx half of the population experience some mental health problem in their lifetime. In fact, in 2020, 67.2% of women and 32.8% of men had this type of illness, according to the report.

Children are a very vulnerable group of people in terms of mental health. Hyperactivity, behavior problems, or mood swings are some of the most common childhood disorders. In this regard, data from the National Health Survey in Spain (ENSE) states that residents aged between four and 14 years show a frequency of 3.5% in cases of hyperactivity, 1.6 in emotional symptoms, and 1.4 in behavioral problems.

Experts point out that good mental health is very important at an early age, because it facilitates the attainment of stages of physical and emotional development, and allows the learning of certain social skills and coping abilities in adulthood.

Lack of psychologists in Spain

Spanish The number of clinical psychologists in the country is 67% less than that of major European countriess, according to the Iqvia consultant report. Specifically, the country has six mental health professionals for every 100,000 residents. This figure is below Germany which has 41 per 100,000 population, England with 18, France with 15 and Italy with 9.

However, the situation changed drastically while observing the field of psychiatry. In this case, in Spain there are 15 psychiatrists for every 100,000 residents. This number is higher than the UK, which has only eight professionals for every 100,000 population, and is close to France (18 psychiatrists), Germany (17) and Italy (16).

Although the number of professionals is scarce, the demand is growing. The IDIS Foundation report shows that in 2020 there was a slight increase in the number of psychological therapies, to a total of 5.5 million consultations – the most recent public data.