The coordinator of the Mental Health Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP), Paula Armero, proposes to promote coordinated programs with educational centers to reinforce the protection of the mental health of children and adolescents and reduce risk factors.
"If we really want to do prevention, we also have to reach the places where all the children and adolescents are," Armero has defended, who has pointed out that "it is not about turning classrooms into consultations," but about normalizing the presence of professionals with whom they can talk in the school center.
This line of work is integrated into the AEP's strategy to strengthen the role of pediatricians in addressing mental health. "Pediatrics has historically done very well in the prevention of physical health, but we have to take a step further in mental health," Paula Armero has highlighted.
For this purpose, the Mental Health Committee of the association has developed the 'Mental Health Manual for Busy Pediatricians 2026', which includes practical tools to incorporate the promotion of mental health, prevention, early detection, and initial management of emotional problems into the consultation.
High prevalence of emotional problems in adolescence
The document states that around 40 percent of adolescents report having had some mental health problem in the last year. In addition, between seven and 12 percent of minors present clinically relevant anxiety disorders, and depression increases from a prevalence of between one and two percent in childhood to between three and eight percent in adolescence.
Along with prevention, the AEP identifies early detection as another central challenge. Given that emotional distress can be expressed through physical symptoms, sleep difficulties, isolation, school absenteeism, decreased academic performance, or striking changes in behavior, pediatricians emphasize the need to inquire into the emotional, family, and school context of each minor.
"Not all distress constitutes a mental disorder," has emphasized the pediatrician of the Adolescent Unit of La Paz University Hospital and member of the Mental Health Committee of the AEP Itz Oiz Urriza. In this sense, he has urged to distinguish between illness and the difficulties inherent to development and life experiences that can cause suffering.
Ten warning signs for families
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics has also disseminated the document '10 signs to consult the pediatrician about your child's mental health', designed to guide families in detecting changes that should be discussed with the specialist.
Among these signs are persistent mood disturbances, loss of interest in usual activities, isolation, changes in routines, regressive behaviors, pains and physical symptoms already studied without apparent cause, refusal to attend school, anxiety that interferes with daily life, concerning modifications in screen use, and self-harm or expressions of hopelessness.
Pediatricians remind that the presence of one or several of these manifestations does not necessarily imply a mental disorder. They insist that the intensity, duration, and impact on daily life should be assessed, listen to the minor without judgment, and seek professional help when deemed appropriate.
"It is not necessary to wait for a serious problem or a diagnosis to consult. If something worries a family, the pediatrician can listen, assess what is happening, and guide on the next steps," Dr. Armero has pointed out.