Post-pandemic demand for mental health services has surged. Public investment has not kept pace.
In France, the average wait for a first psychiatric appointment is now 7.5 months. In Germany, it is 5.8 months. In Poland, public mental health services are so overwhelmed that an estimated 60% of those who need care never receive it. These are not outliers. They are the European norm.
The pandemic accelerated a crisis that was decades in the making. Across the EU, mental health spending accounts for just 5.5% of total health budgets — despite mental illness being responsible for an estimated 15% of disability-adjusted life years lost.
The youth crisis is particularly acute. Depression rates among 15-24 year olds have increased 47% since 2019. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for Europeans under 25. Schools report unprecedented demand for counselling services they are not staffed to provide.
We treat mental health as a luxury in our budgets and wonder why it becomes an emergency in our hospitals.