Let’s Talk about Children– A Round Table Of Experts For World Mental Health Day

On October 10th, 2025, in observance of World Mental Health Day and in collaboration with the Municipality of Palermo, the Roundtable on Psychological Wellbeing and the LTC Method was held at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna (GAM) in Palermo. 

The event, warmly welcomed by the Director of GAM, Dr. Maria Francesca Martinez Taviglia, served as a meaningful platform for dialogue among mental health professionals, social workers, educators, and representatives from Palermo’s health and education sectors. The primary goal was to share the progress achieved through the Let’s Talk About Children in Europe (LTC) project and to listen to the experiences and insights of LTC trainers, in order to better outline the next steps for strengthening local efforts in child mental health, family support, and preventive care. 

A particularly notable contribution came from Dr. Concetta Di Benedetto, a social worker at the Corporate Wellbeing Office of the Municipality of Palermo, who offered a comprehensive overview of the current challenges facing youth in the city. Her talk highlighted key issues such as parenting difficulties, emerging family vulnerabilities, and new forms of addiction, including compulsive shopping and social media dependency. 

 Also participating in the roundtable were representatives from the Department of Juvenile Justice – Social Services Office for Minors in Palermo, ARNAS Civico Hospital, and the DunAdenzia APS Association. Together, they fostered a constructive debate on the state of youth in Palermo and the institutional and systemic barriers that often hinder mental health promotion in their respective work environments. 

 The discussions reaffirmed the pressing need for a cross-sectoral and collaborative approach, centered on the creation of robust support networks for families and young people. One key takeaway was the recognition that professional training remains a crucial solution to the widespread lack of essential skills required to work effectively in preventive mental health care. 

 The event concluded on a note of hope and shared purpose: the Let’s Talk About Children method has proven to be a valuable, adaptable tool that can complement both national and local policies. It promotes collaboration, helps identify children’s psychosocial needs, supports the development of stable community-based networks, and provides an effective framework to address the pressing challenges of equity and inclusion. 

This article was originally published on the CEIPES website.