The Centre of Mental Health Care Development is a partner in a three-year project funded by the EU4Health programme which will focus on training mental health professionals in the Let's Talk about Children method and its integration into practice in the Czech Republic and eight other European countries.
 

The Finnish method of working with families, Let's Talk About Children, aims to strengthen the parental role, promote healthy relationships and support children in families where at least one parent suffers from mental illness or addiction (or the family is burdened by other threatening factors). It focuses primarily on educating, supporting and empowering the entire family system, including other people who are important to the family and child. The method has been used in practice for more than 20 years and its impact and effectiveness have been subjected to a wide range of research (it is evidence-based). The author and promoter of the method is Dr. Tytti Solantaus, a Finnish child psychiatrist and professor who has long been active in promoting the prevention of mental illness and its integration into the mental health care system both in Finland and abroad.
 

The project is implemented by the University of Turku in Finland, which has established cooperation with universities, hospitals, non-profit mental health care organisations for adults, children and youth, and educational agencies in Finland, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Estonia, Romania and Greece. Mental Health Europe is also involved in the implementation of the project. In the Czech Republic, the project will train approximately 100 mental health workers who will use it in their work with clients in their organisations.