The 122nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology

Chairpersons：Masafumi Mizuno（Asaka Hospital）, Tsutomu Takahashi（Toyama University）
Main Coordinator：Masafumi Mizuno（Asaka Hospital）
Sub Coordinator：Takahiro Nemoto（Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University Faculty of Medicine／Department of Psychiatry and Implementation Science）

【英→日または日→英AI翻訳あり】

Many studies around the world suggest that early psychiatric intervention is essential for preventing and recovering from mental illness. In pioneering countries such as Australia, it has been introduced into local mental health care systems. Although early intervention can be applied to all age groups, services for younger people are particularly important, given that most mental illnesses develop by the mid-20s.
In Japan, the declining birth rate is a long-standing issue, and young people are truly the treasure of the nation. Meanwhile, international comparative surveys have shown that young people in Japan have lower self-esteem and are more prone to depression than those in other countries. Therefore, Japan probably needs to work more proactively to introduce early psychiatric intervention and youth mental health measures than other countries.
However, although there is growing awareness of the need for early psychiatric intervention in Japan, its practice has not yet become widespread in the medical and community health settings. It is essential to introduce feasible early intervention and youth mental health measures considering the mentality of Japanese young people and relevant systems in Japan.
There is a global movement to establish youth mental health services that provide early intervention along the continuum from mental health to mental illness. A community-based, integrated approach, where services are designed in a youth-friendly, non-stigmatizing environment, and a multidisciplinary team supporting young people are desirable. These are key to addressing the difficulty young people with mental health problems have in seeking help.
In recent years, Asian countries have also implemented early psychiatric intervention and youth mental health services that consider each country's policies, regional characteristics, and health insurance systems. These good examples from Asian countries, where values and cultures are familiar, offer many insights into appropriate support, service effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and implementation strategies.
This symposium aims to invite leading experts in this field from Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong to share their current status and discuss strategies for Asian countries to cooperate and disseminate interdisciplinary evidence to the world.