Toolkit guide

Resources

Frameworks, guidance and monitoring tools to support each stage of policy work.

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Showing 30 of 223 resources
Guidelines
2025
Mental Health of Children and Young People: Service Guidance (WHO, 2025) [3.1]
Report
2025
Child & Youth Mental Health in the European Region (WHO)
Guidelines
2025
Guidance on MH Policy & Strategic Action Plans (WHO, 2025)
Guidelines
2025
Mental Health of Children and Young People: Service Guidance (WHO, 2025) [2.2]
Guidelines
2025
Wellbeing and Mental Health at School: Guidelines for Policymakers (European Commission, 2025)
Policy Brief
2025
Addressing the Digital Determinants of Youth Mental Health (WHO, 2025)
Report
2025
OECD Report: Mental Health Promotion and Prevention — Best Practices in Public Health (2025)
Innovative practice
2025
Youngle*
Database
2024
Mental Health Atlas 2024 [1.1]
Policy Brief
2024
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Policy Brief (UNICEF)
Guidelines
2024
How School Systems Can Improve Health and Wellbeing: Mental Health Topic Brief (WHO, UNICEF and UNESCO, 2023)
Guidelines
2024
Guidance on Scheduled Child and Adolescent Well-Care Visits (WHO, 2024)
Guidelines
2024
Improving the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents: guidance on scheduled child and adolescent well-care visits (WHO 2024)
Framework
2024
Parenting Support Framework for the Early Years (UNICEF, 2024)
Policy Brief
2024
Digital Technologies, Child Rights & Well-Being Brief (UNICEF)
European Commission Reccomendations
2024
Commission Recommendation on integrated child protection systems
Report
2023
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) [3.2]
Strategy
2023
A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health (EC, 2023)
Guidelines
2023
WHO Guidelines on Parenting Interventions (2023) [3.1]
Guidelines
2023
WHO Guidelines on Parenting Interventions (2023) [2.2]
Framework
2022
Global Multisectoral Operational Framework for MHPSS (UNICEF, 2022)
Implementation Guide
2021
LIVE LIFE Suicide Prevention Guide (WHO, 2021) [3.1]
Guidelines
2021
Guidelines on Promotive & Preventive MH Interventions for Adolescents (WHO, 2021) [2.2]
Report
2021
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) [1.1]
Guidelines
2021
Guidelines on Promotive & Preventive MH Interventions for Adolescents (WHO, 2021) [1.2]
Implementation Guide
2021
LIVE LIFE Suicide Prevention Guide (WHO, 2021) [2.2]
EU policy framework
2021
EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child  
Framework
2020
Operational Framework for Primary Health Care (UNICEF, 2020) [3.1]
Framework
2020
Child Rights Impact Assessment framework (ENOC) [3.2]
Framework
2020
Child Rights Impact Assessment framework (ENOC) [1.1]

Mental Health of Children and Young People: Service Guidance (WHO, 2025) [3.1]

Mental health of children and young people: service guidance (WHO 2025)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Guaranteeing access to early intervention and mental health services and support
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Actions 2 & 3

Use it to…

organise coordinated, multi-level service delivery across sectors

Where to look in this resource

The “Strengthening systems” chapter (standards, governance, family and youth participation, financing, workforce and information systems) is the most relevant for cross-sector coordination and the enabling conditions; the “Designing and delivering services” chapter covers how services are organised and integrated across the health and non-health sectors.

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Child & Youth Mental Health in the European Region (WHO)

Child and youth mental health in the EURO region (WHO EURO 2025)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: child and youth mental health
  • Typology: Report
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Actions 1 & 3

Use it to…

situate national data in a regional context and identify gaps in governance, workforce, services and quality of care.

Where to look in this resource

RELEVANT FOR ACTION 1 The “Results” (population needs and trends — burden and status) and the “Summary” RELEVANT FOR ACTION 3 The “Results” (workforce, services, governance and the treatment gap) and the “Proposed actions to improve the quality of CAYMH care”

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Guidance on MH Policy & Strategic Action Plans (WHO, 2025)

Guidance on mental health policy and strategic action plans (WHO 2025)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: mental health
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Scope: Global

Use it to…

Translate evidence into a coherent national policy and strategic planning framework.

Where to look in this resource

This file is Module 1 of a five-module WHO series — it sets out the approach and rationale (new directions for reform, the human-rights framework, and the social and structural determinants of mental health). The practical reform areas and the step-by-step process for developing, implementing and evaluating a policy or action plan are in Modules 2 and 3 of the series.

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Mental Health of Children and Young People: Service Guidance (WHO, 2025) [2.2]

Mental health of children and young people: service guidance (WHO 2025)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Guaranteeing access to early intervention and mental health services and support
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layers 2 & 3

Use it to…

Clarify how prevention and promotion link to early intervention and effective service organisation.

Where to look in this resource

The “Designing and delivering services” chapter (principles for service delivery; integration in general health services; community mental health services; services beyond the health sector; and digital interventions) and the “Strengthening systems” chapter (standards, governance, family and youth participation, financing, workforce and information systems) are the practical core. Note: this is about organising and delivering mental health care, which sits at targeted prevention and the care layers above.

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Wellbeing and Mental Health at School: Guidelines for Policymakers (European Commission, 2025)

Wellbeing and mental health at school: Guidelines for policymakers, schools and educators (EU 2025)
  • Source: European Commission
  • Topic: Creating an enabling learning environment
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layers 1 & 2

Use it to…

translate policy commitments into practical school-level action on wellbeing and mental health.

Where to look in this resource

The eleven key recommendations (with specific messages for policymakers and for schools) are the practical core, sitting within the whole-school conceptual framework set out earlier in the document.

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Addressing the Digital Determinants of Youth Mental Health (WHO, 2025)

Addressing the digital determinants of youth mental health and well-being: policy brief (WHO EURO 2025)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Digital determinants
  • Typology: Policy Brief
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layer 1

Use it to…

Inform policy responses to the growing influence of digital environments on young people’s mental health.

Where to look in this resource

The whole document is relevant in its entirety: it summarises the current evidence on the impact of digital environments on youth mental health and translates it into eight priority actions for policy responses.

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OECD Report: Mental Health Promotion and Prevention — Best Practices in Public Health (2025)

Mental Health Promotion and Prevention: Best Practices in Public Health (OECD 2025)
  • Source: OECD
  • Topic: Guaranteeing access to early intervention and mental health services and support
  • Typology: Report
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layers 1, 2 & 3

Use it to…

bring together cost-effective public health approaches and the policy levers needed to support them.

Where to look in this resource

The “Assessment and recommendations” chapter sets out the cross-cutting findings, cost-effectiveness and policy levers. The best-practice chapters most relevant to children, adolescents and young people are Zippy’s Friends (school-based social-emotional learning), Icehearts (long-term mentoring for children at higher risk), @ease (youth walk-in / low-threshold early support), “This is me” (youth mental health), Next Stop: Mum (perinatal depression screening) and SUPRA (suicide prevention, Austria).

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Youngle*

Youngle
  • Source: 2025
  • Topic: Innovative practice (*) - peer/youth-led digital service, nationally funded; evaluation limited.
  • Typology: Innovative practice
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

Use it to help identify, adapt, and apply effective solutions for peer-led online listening and counselling networks.

Where to look in this resource

The whole document is relevant - it summarises the main characteristics of the practice.

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Mental Health Atlas 2024 [1.1]

Mental Health Atlas 2024 (WHO 2025)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Mental healh
  • Typology: Database
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

assess system capacity, service coverage, workforce and financing gaps against international benchmarks.

Where to look in this resource

The “Governance of mental health systems”, “Mental health financing and workforce” and “Mental health services” sections (including service coverage) - plus your country profile on the website

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Child & Adolescent Mental Health Policy Brief (UNICEF)

Policy Brief. Child and Adolescent Mental Health: The State of Children in the European Union (UNICEF 2024)
  • Source: UNICEF
  • Topic: Evidence on mental health
  • Typology: Policy Brief
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Actions 1 & 2

Use it to…

give decision-makers a concise overview of the scale, drivers and consequences of the challenge.

Where to look in this resource

A short, focused brief — read it in full. It gives the scale, prevalence and who is affected (Action 1), and the major risk and protective factors and social, economic and environmental determinants (Action 2).

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How School Systems Can Improve Health and Wellbeing: Mental Health Topic Brief (WHO, UNICEF and UNESCO, 2023)

How school systems can imporve health and wellbeing: topic brief mental health (WHO, UNICEF and UNESCO 2023)
  • Source: WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO
  • Topic: Creating an enabling learning environment
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layers 1 & 2

Use it to…

Translate evidence on child and adolescent mental health into a clear, actionable systems framework that can be embedded within education policy..

Where to look in this resource

The whole brief is relevant — it sets out the whole-school (“health-promoting schools”) framework and practical actions across governance, partnerships and service provision, with country case studies.

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Guidance on Scheduled Child and Adolescent Well-Care Visits (WHO, 2024)

Improving the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents: guidance on scheduled child and adolescent well-care visits (WHO 2024)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: well care visits
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layer 2

Use it to…

Encourage routine contact points for promotion, prevention and early identification across childhood and adolescence.

Where to look in this resource

The whole document is relevant, as it sets out a schedule of routine contact points — from birth through adolescence — each mapped to specific promotion, prevention, and early-identification actions.

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Improving the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents: guidance on scheduled child and adolescent well-care visits (WHO 2024)

  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: well care visits
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

Encourage routine contact points for promotion, prevention and early identification across childhood and adolescence.

Where to look in this resource

The whole document is relevant, as it sets out a schedule of routine contact points — from birth through adolescence — each mapped to specific promotion, prevention, and early-identification actions.

Parenting Support Framework for the Early Years (UNICEF, 2024)

Parenting support framework for the early years (UNICEF ECARO 2024)
  • Source: UNICEF
  • Topic: Enhancing caregiver child relationships to support healthy development
  • Typology: Framework
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layer 1

Use it to…

shape a multisectoral early years approach that connects parenting support with child development outcomes.

Where to look in this resource

The framework itself (“Parenting support framework for the early years”) and the “Using the framework” section are the practical core, introduced by the earlier sections on the power of parenting.

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Digital Technologies, Child Rights & Well-Being Brief (UNICEF)

Digital technologies, child rights and well-being: The State of Children in the European Union 2024
  • Source: 2024
  • Topic: Digital determinants
  • Typology: Policy Brief
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Actions 2 & 4

Use it to…

understand the digital determinants of mental health and the inequalities and rights issues they raise.

Where to look in this resource

A short, focused brief — read it in full. It covers digital risks and benefits and their mental-health implications (Action 2), and digital inequalities and the child-rights dimension — who is most exposed and least protected (Action 4).

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Commission Recommendation on integrated child protection systems

82-Child prot
  • Source: 2024
  • Topic: Mental health & wellbeing
  • Typology: European Commission Reccomendations
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Scope: EU

Use it to…

to situate national mental health strategies within a broader, multi-sector child-protection coordination framework (public authorities, professionals, families, communities).

Where to look in this resource

The section on "protecting children's integrity and mental health and helping prevent and fight (cyber)bullying," plus the general coordination/governance provisions on integrating services across sectors and authority levels.

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Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) [3.2]

A focus on adolescent mental health and well- being in Europe, central Asia and Canada. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children international report from the 2021/2022 survey (WHO EURO 2023)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: adolescent mental health and well-being
  • Typology: Report
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 1

Use it to…

monitor population-level trends and social determinants.

Where to look in this resource

The whole report is relevant — it provides population-level mental health indicators and the breakdowns by age, gender and socioeconomic background to monitor trends over time.

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A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health (EC, 2023)

A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health (European Commission 2023)
  • Source: European Commission
  • Topic: Mental health
  • Typology: Strategy
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Scope: EU

Use it to…

Align national action with current EU priorities and reinforce a whole-of-government approach.

Where to look in this resource

The whole document is relevant; its concrete commitments to align to are set out in the "Flagship initiatives", spanning promotion, prevention and early intervention, vulnerable groups, and the determinants of mental health.

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WHO Guidelines on Parenting Interventions (2023) [3.1]

WHO guidelines on parenting interventions to prevent maltreatment and enhance parent–child relationships with children aged 0–17 years (WHO 2023)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Enhancing caregiver child relationships to support healthy development
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

strengthen parenting support through existing service platforms.

Where to look in this resource

The recommendations are the practical core (with the executive summary giving the headline recommendations); for implementation, these are the basis for delivering parenting support through existing health, social and community platforms (Action 3).

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WHO Guidelines on Parenting Interventions (2023) [2.2]

WHO guidelines on parenting interventions to prevent maltreatment and enhance parent–child relationships with children aged 0–17 years (WHO 2023)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Enhancing caregiver child relationships to support healthy development
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layer 1

Use it to…

Strengthen the case for family-based prevention strategies that support child development and mental wellbeing.

Where to look in this resource

The recommendations are the practical core (with the executive summary giving the headline recommendations); the remainder sets out the evidence base and the guideline development process.

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Global Multisectoral Operational Framework for MHPSS (UNICEF, 2022)

Global multisectoral operational framework for mental health and psychosocial support of children, adolescents and caregivers across settings (UNICEF 2022)
  • Source: UNICEF
  • Topic: Overreaching strategies
  • Typology: Framework
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Scope: Global

Use it to…

Set out an evidence-informed, systems-level structure for child and adolescent mental health, with cross-sector coordination and monitoring.

Where to look in this resource

The framework is organised around four Outcomes — "Child and adolescent", "Caregivers", "Community" and "Systems" — together with the "Theoretical underpinnings" (the mental health continuum and multisectoral supports). The "Systems" outcome is the most directly relevant for aligning national systems.

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LIVE LIFE Suicide Prevention Guide (WHO, 2021) [3.1]

LIVE LIFE: An implementation guide for suicide prevention in countries (WHO 2021)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Targeted mental health prevention
  • Typology: Implementation Guide
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

structure national suicide-prevention planning, coordination and implementation.

Where to look in this resource

Part A sets out the LIVE LIFE core pillars (multisectoral collaboration; awareness-raising and advocacy; financing; surveillance; and monitoring and evaluation) — the foundations for coordinated implementation; Part B sets out the four key interventions (limit access to means; responsible media reporting; foster socio-emotional life skills in adolescents; and early identification, assessment, management and follow-up).

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Guidelines on Promotive & Preventive MH Interventions for Adolescents (WHO, 2021) [2.2]

Guidelines on promotive and preventive mental health interventions for adolescents (WHO 2021)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Guaranteeing access to early intervention and mental health services and support
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layers 1, 2 & 3

Use it to…

Identify interventions with a strong evidence base to prioritise for policy adoption and scale-up.

Where to look in this resource

The “Summary of recommendations” sets out the headline interventions to prioritise across the layers, and the “Evidence and recommendations” section gives the evidence behind each; the detailed evidence summaries are in the annexes.

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Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) [1.1]

A focus on adolescent mental health and well- being in Europe, central Asia and Canada. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children international report from the 2021/2022 survey (WHO EURO 2023)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: adolescent mental health and well-being
  • Typology: Report
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 1 (Action 2 limited)

Use it to…

benchmark national trends against regional patterns and identify the age, gender and socioeconomic inequalities that need targeted policy attention.

Where to look in this resource

Read the report as a whole for Action 1 — it is focused entirely on adolescent mental health (the status of each indicator, and the age, gender and socioeconomic breakdowns). It is relevant to Action 2 only through the “Social inequalities” theme; family, school and digital determinants sit across other HBSC volumes.

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Guidelines on Promotive & Preventive MH Interventions for Adolescents (WHO, 2021) [1.2]

Guidelines on promotive and preventive mental health interventions for adolescents (WHO 2021)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Guaranteeing access to early intervention and mental health services and support
  • Typology: Guidelines
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Scope: Global

Use it to…

Identify interventions with a strong evidence base to prioritise for policy adoption and scale-up.

Where to look in this resource

The "Summary of recommendations" sets out the headline interventions to prioritise, and the "Evidence and recommendations" section gives the evidence behind each; the detailed evidence summaries are in the annexes.

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LIVE LIFE Suicide Prevention Guide (WHO, 2021) [2.2]

LIVE LIFE: An implementation guide for suicide prevention in countries (WHO 2021)
  • Source: WHO
  • Topic: Targeted mental health prevention
  • Typology: Implementation Guide
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Layer 3

Use it to…

Provide a structured model for national suicide prevention planning, coordination and implementation.

Where to look in this resource

The whole document is relevant, as it lays out a structured model - covering planning and coordination and implementation (four key interventions and six cross-cutting pillars) - for countries to build a national suicide prevention approach.

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EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child  

81_rightsofthechild_cover
  • Source: 2021
  • Topic: Mental health & wellbeing
  • Typology: EU policy framework
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Scope: EU

Use it to…

to anchor for mental health promotion for children with high-level EU policy, since it explicitly names mental health and psychosocial support as a priority and calls for cross-sector networks (families, schools, youth services). Good for framing a mental health initiative as aligned with a recognized EU strategic priority.

Where to look in this resource

Thematic area 2 ("Socio-economic inclusion, health and education") is the most directly relevant, plus the specific health/mental-health action points (building networks with families, schools, and youth on mental health; actions on child and adolescent health including mental health and psychosocial support).

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Operational Framework for Primary Health Care (UNICEF, 2020) [3.1]

Operational Framework for Primary Health Care (UNICEF 2020)
  • Source: UNICEF
  • Topic: PHC system strengtening
  • Typology: Framework
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Actions 2 & 3

Use it to…

Support integration of mental health promotion and early support into primary health care and routine child services.

Where to look in this resource

The framework is organised around 14 “levers” in two groups — Core strategic levers (political commitment and leadership; governance and policy frameworks; funding and allocation of resources; engagement of communities and stakeholders) and Operational levers (models of care; workforce; physical infrastructure; quality; monitoring and evaluation; and others). The governance and stakeholder-engagement levers speak to cross-sector coordination (Action 2); the funding, models-of-care, workforce and infrastructure levers to the enabling conditions (Action 3).

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Child Rights Impact Assessment framework (ENOC) [3.2]

Common Framework of Reference on Child Rights Impact Assessment: A Guide on How to carry out CRIA (ENOC 2020)
  • Source: ENOC
  • Topic: Impact Assessment Methodology
  • Typology: Framework
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 4

Use it to…

assess equity and rights-based impacts across population groups.

Where to look in this resource

The whole guide is relevant — the CRIA process (especially the “Assess Impact” and “Monitor and Review” stages) provides a structured way to monitor equity and rights-based impacts across different groups of children.

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Child Rights Impact Assessment framework (ENOC) [1.1]

Common Framework of Reference on Child Rights Impact Assessment: A Guide on How to carry out CRIA (ENOC 2020)
  • Source: ENOC
  • Topic: Impact Assessment Methodology
  • Typology: Framework
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 4

Use it to…

ensure new laws, policies and programmes consider children's rights and avoid unintended harm.

Where to look in this resource

RELEVANT FOR ACTION 4 The CRIA process stages — especially “Screening” and “Assess Impact” — to test how a policy affects different groups of children

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