European Mental Health Week 2026: Discover EU-funded projects making mental health a priority

Mental health is one of the most pressing public health challenges facing Europe today. According to the World Health Organization, mental health conditions affect millions of people, with depression alone ranking among the leading causes of disability. Yet despite its prevalence, mental health remains an under-addressed topic due to stigma, fragmented care systems and persistent inequities in access to much-needed support. The COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing displacement crises and rising cost-of-living pressures have only deepened these challenges, placing strain on vulnerable groups including young people, migrants and refugees and those living in socio-economic disadvantage. 

European Mental Health Week 2026, coordinated by Mental Health Europe, provides a vital platform to shift the conversation from crisis response toward prevention, inclusion and collective action. This year’s theme "Stronger Together: Prioritise Mental Health in a Changing Europe” emphasises that lasting progress in mental health depends on communities, policies and partnerships that put people first. 

The EU has made mental health a strategic priority with its comprehensive approach to mental health, a 2023 framework for action across EU countries. Through both the EU4Health and Horizon Europe funding programmes, managed by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), the Commission is investing in projects that translate commitment into tangible results. 

Joint Action MENTOR, co-funded by EU4Health, brings together partners from across Europe to advance mental health promotion and prevention through coordinated, cross-border collaboration. The Joint Action addresses mental health at every level, from policy to community-based practice, with a focus on equitable access to care, stigma reduction and the inclusion of people with lived experience. 

Joint Action MENTOR has already delivered guidance on how to apply the Mental health in all policies approach (MHiAP) to national contexts. The project has also developed an Integrated Care Pathway model promoting social inclusion, a framework for evaluating community-based mental health programmes, and HappApp, a mental health promotion app. The project is also advancing standards for monitoring digital mental health tools to validate their trustworthiness. 

Led by the European Alliance Against Depression (EAAD) and co-funded by the EU4Health programme, project MentBox is working to prevent non-communicable diseases related to mental health, with a particular focus on supporting vulnerable population groups. Their main objective is to identify and tailor the most promising mental health interventions targeting depression, suicide and non-clinical mental distress, and then guide EU countries in their implementation by providing a digital book, the Modular Mental Health Toolbox (MH-Toolbox). 

Halfway through the project cycle, MentBox has already advanced the development of its MH-Toolbox through a combination of expert consultation, policy engagement and community-based co-creation. A Delphi study led by one of the partners has identified and refined promising mental health interventions, ensuring they are evidence-based and adaptable across EU contexts. 

In parallel, the consortium has engaged with mental health decision-makers across EU ministries to assess implementation barriers and align the Toolbox with national priorities. It has also launched participatory co-creation activities in Sevilla (Spain), working with local communities, including the Roma population, to tailor mental health interventions to vulnerable groups. These efforts are directly informing the structure and content of the MH-Toolbox as a practical and user-oriented resource for national policy makers. 

REMESOS, co-funded by EU4Health, tackles mental health on two practical fronts: by implementing a community solution and creating a population-level mental health measurement tool enabling policy makers to monitor outcomes and evaluate interventions. The project is rolling out the Guided Functional Peer Support (GFP) model in Greece, Slovakia, Portugal and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Unlike traditional therapy, GFP trains community members to act as peer supporters, guiding small groups through structured activities that build resilience, reduce stigma and foster social connection. This so-called low-threshold approach ensures help is accessible to vulnerable groups who might otherwise avoid clinical services. 

The project is also developing a standardised population-level measurement tool to monitor mental wellbeing across Europe. By reviewing existing data and engaging stakeholders, the project is creating a framework that allows national governments to evaluate the real-world impact of interventions like GFP. 

Migrants, refugees and internally displaced people face a disproportionate risk of mental health problems. MiMIND, co-funded by EU4Health, addresses this by strengthening the integration and essential services that are often the primary point of contact for displaced people in a new host country. 

The project has developed a code of good practices for mental health assessment. Pilot programmes are already underway in three distinct contexts:  

• Building capacity of helping professionals in Hungary;
• Identifying mental health needs of Ukrainian refugee children in Romania;
• Equipping primary healthcare professionals in Ukraine to detect and respond to mental health problems early among internally displaced persons. 

ReCiHePe, co-funded by EU4Health, empowers vulnerable groups and the communities around them to build capacity for resilience, inclusion and mutual support. Target populations include refugees, immigrants, victims of domestic abuse, elders and young people not in employment, education or training. 

The project trains community members in peer support, develops local peer support hubs and supports grassroots initiatives that address the social determinants of mental health. Its cross-cutting research component examines how community-based initiatives and peer support affect the well-being of vulnerable groups, generating evidence for an approach that could be replicated widely. 

The work of the ADVANCE project, funded by Horizon Europe, has shown the efficacy of digitally supported mental health interventions across Europe: 

• A chatbot (SIJA) for young people in Lithuania, using cognitive behavioural therapy techniques as a basis, showed sustained reductions in anxiety, depression and stress;
• The CliMACT intervention in Germany supported 14-25-year-olds experiencing climate distress through a hybrid approach that combines 3 face-to-face sessions with a mental health professional and a 6-week app use to promote emotional resilience;
• MentaalFit in the Netherlands addressed workplace stress through digital support and supervisor training;
• The WHO's Self-Help Plus (SH+), a group-based stress management course for adults, proved impactful for people with a migration background in Italy and Denmark;
• SH+ interventions for older adults in Switzerland improved wellbeing and social connection. 

Following successful feasibility studies completed across six European sites, the project is now progressing to large-scale randomised controlled trials to generate more evidence for wider implementation. 

BootStRaP, co-funded by Horizon Europe, focuses on analysing, detecting and preventing Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) in adolescents, such as overuse of gaming, social networks and streaming that can significantly disrupt personal wellbeing. The project studies the health impacts of PUI and develops tools for early intervention. 

Over 1800 European students from 40+ schools across nine countries participated in the first assessment phase, with over a third reporting difficulties controlling their use of digital technology. The second phase has recruited over 3000 students to test a digital intervention. Meanwhile, policy analysis has revealed significant legislative gaps relating to adolescent mental health, highlighting the need to incorporate mental health considerations into digital governance. 

EASE-Y targets early adolescents aged 10–15 living in particularly vulnerable circumstances, including children in alternative care, migrant and refugee children, Roma communities and those displaced from Ukraine. The project pilots the WHO-developed Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) intervention, equipping non-specialist "lay helpers" and caregivers with practical skills to identify and respond to early signs of distress. 

73 professionals have been trained across the four pilot countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia), reaching adolescents and caregivers in community, school and alternative care settings. Many participants had never encountered structured mental health support, confirming a significant gap that EASE-Y is beginning to address. 

Icehearts Europe, co-funded by EU4Health, successfully adapted the Finnish Icehearts best practice to five European countries (Italy, Slovenia, Denmark, Spain, and Estonia), demonstrating that a long-term, community-based mentoring approach can improve the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable children and adolescents.  

The project paired 2775 children and adolescents (aged 6–18) with 112 specially trained mentors who provided consistent, long-term support through sports, leisure activities and emotional guidance. These qualified mentors were key to the project’s approach as they acted as a stable reference figure to support the social and emotional development of the youngsters and worked closely with families and local services. 

The project also mobilised 219 local stakeholders, including schools, social services and sports clubs, to create sustainable, multi-sector support networks that are continuing to operate after the end of the project. 

HappyMums (Horizon Europe) is the first EU-funded project dedicated specifically to understanding, predicting and treating depressive symptoms and depression during pregnancy. The project, funded under Horizon Europe, aims to understand the biological and environmental mechanisms underlying antenatal depression, develop tools to predict which women are at risk and test therapeutic interventions to improve outcomes for both mothers and their children. 

The project has carried out a landmark individual participant data meta-analysis, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, analysing data from 76 514 children across the EU Child Cohort Network. Their findings include that prenatal maternal depression is consistently associated with increased risk of adverse child outcomes, including emotional and behavioural problems, ADHD and poorer cognitive and language development. The project has also published the study protocol for its smartphone application, designed to safely and anonymously collect mental health measures and digital behavioural data from pregnant women to build machine-learning models capable of predicting antenatal depression.  

Background 

Horizon Europe is the research and innovation programme of the EU for the period 2021-2027. The aims of Cluster 1 ‘Health’ include improving and protecting the health and well-being of citizens of all ages by generating new knowledge, developing innovative solutions and integrating where relevant a gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure diseases. Horizon 2020 (H2020) was the EU’s multiannual funding programme between 2014 and 2020. 

EU4Health is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe. HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and calls for tenders.