Topic 7 Spain
There are different public and private mental health care services.
The National Health System (NHS) offers mental health care services free of charge to children and adolescents of working parents and other conditions. The network is established by levels of specialisation: level 1 is primary care together with the educational and social spheres; level 2 includes child and adolescent mental health centres; and level 3 includes highly complex or high intensity services, such as day hospitals, inpatient units and medium-stay units.
Within the NHS, mental health care services offer:
1)outpatient care
- Primary Care Centres (CAP)
- Mental Health Units (MHU)
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Units (USMI or USMI-A)
2)inpatient care / Hospital care
- Urgent hospital care
- Psychiatric Hospitalisation Units (UHP)
- Hospital at Home Units (HHU)
- Day Hospitals (HD)
- Medium Stay Units (MSU)
Psychiatric and/or psychological care for children and adolescents is not homogenised in all the Autonomous Communities (AC). In the province of Valencia, the clinical area of mental health is divided into Community resources and Hospital resources.
In addition, in Spain, there are other free psychological care resources/services, such as those listed below
(online or face-to-face appointment). They constitute the initial access to the health system: http://www.san.gva.es/cita_previa/citaprevia_general_cas.html
They offer a comprehensive psychotherapeutic approach, focusing on the patient and main caregiver, using psychopharmacological therapy and psychotherapeutic techniques, both individual and group, based on scientific evidence: http://www.lafe.san.gva.es/AreasyServicios/es/salud-mental/infanto-juvenil.html
http://www.san.gva.es/web/dgas/red-de-recursos http://www.san.gva.es/web/dgas/salud-mental1 Â
Students between the ages of 14 and 28 can benefit from free psychological therapy through the school insurance paid at the beginning of each academic year. The medical assistance includes neuropsychiatric and psychological treatments: https://www.seg-social.es/wps/portal/wss/internet/InformacionUtil/44539/45073 Â
Website and an app of contents of the Spanish Foundation for Suicide Prevention that provide tools for potential suicidal people, people who survived a suicide attempt, family members and professionals: www.prevensuic.org
The Cantabrian Association for Mental Health has made available to all citizens a free telephone service for psychological care, attended by psychology professionals: https://www.ascasam.org/
Start up Valencian company that offers an app of self-guided psychological programmes, which includes both paid and completely free content: https://serenmind.com/para-psicologos/
Website where you can ask questions about the symptoms you are suffering from in the Ask the Expert section, as well as other health problems that cause concern or anxiety: https://www.doctoralia.es/preguntas-respuestas
Non-profit organisation that helps children and adolescents at risk. It can also be used by students when they are in a problem or risk situation, and support teachers who need guidance on how to help a minor under their responsibility: https://www.anar.org/colegios-e-institutos/
Non-profit organisation for humanitarian action. Free and detached from partisan and economic interests: https://www.psicologossinfronteras.org/.
Telephone: 960 450 230
The Spanish Association of University Psychological and Psychopedagogical Services is a space for the exchange of experiences and dissemination of the activities carried out by the psychological units of Spanish universities. On its website you can find a list of higher education centres, divided by communities, which have this type of services: https://blogs.ua.es/aesppu/presentacion/quienes-somos/
The well-known free telephone service provides instant assistance and maintains the anonymity of the caller: https://telefonodelaesperanza.org/ Telephone: 717 003 717 (operates 24 hours a day)
- La Barandilla Association: 911 385 385 (works 24 hours a day).
- Telephone of hope: 717 003 717 (works 24 hours a day).
- National: 024 (completely free of charge).
- Help can also be found on the 112 emergency telephone number.
The well-known free telephone service provides instant assistance and maintains the anonymity of the caller: https://telefonodelaesperanza.org/
Telephone: 717 003 717 (operates 24 hours a day)