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Early support where it is most needed
With the Urban Mental Health (UMH) project, the German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) and the City of Bochum are breaking new ground. The goal is to reach children and adolescents where mental health begins: in their everyday lives and surroundings. In daycare centers, schools, youth services, and counseling institutions, professionals are empowered, structures are further developed, and mental health is established as a shared responsibility — early on, collaboratively, and based on scientific evidence. In this way, not only individual mental health is strengthened, but also the entire community in which the project is implemented.
Background
Mental disorders are among the most pressing public health challenges of our time — not only in adults but already in children and adolescents. Research shows that one third of all mental disorders begin before the age of 14, half by 18, and almost two thirds before 25*. Nevertheless, the existing healthcare system often becomes active only once symptoms have become chronic—sometimes with severe consequences for young people’s lives. Early-onset mental disorders are frequently associated with lower educational attainment, reduced income, higher unemployment, early retirement, and decreased life expectancy. At the same time, they lead to considerable economic costs. In 2015 alone, mental disorders accounted for 147 billion euros, or 4.8 percent of Germany’s gross domestic product, including 56.4 billion euros in direct costs.**
* WHO, World mental health today, Latest data, 2025
** DGPPN, Forderungen zur Bundestagswahl, #mentalhealth stärken und schützen, 2025
A partnership between experts and local institutions
UMH is based on a strong alliance between science, practice, and policy – supported by an advisory board, stakeholder board, and children’s and youth councils as integral parts of the structure. The project is led by the DZPG site Bochum-Marburg under the scientific direction of Prof. Dr. Silvia Schneider, one of the leading experts in clinical child and adolescent psychology. Together with an interdisciplinary team and in close cooperation with the City of Bochum and local institutions, the project develops a protection program designed not only to provide short-term support but also to bring about lasting structural change.
Project Lead
Prof. Dr. Silvia Schneider
Project Coordinator
Dr. Lukka Popp
lukka.popp@rub.de
General inquiries
umh-projekt@rub.de
A city-wide approach
Instead of relying on predefined modules, UMH operates as a learning system that adapts flexibly to the conditions of participating institutions. In a four-phase process—from analysis to planning to long-term implementation — measures are developed, tested, and continuously refined. All modules, from psychoeducation and supervision to network building, are practice-oriented, low-threshold, and scientifically evaluated.
The focus is not solely on challenges, but also on strengths and resources: What do people within an institution need in order to better promote mental health? How can routines be adjusted, stress reduced, and opportunities for action expanded? Professionals receive concrete support in their daily work — as well as new perspectives on their roles, their impact, and the potential of their environment. UMH thus combines behavioral and structural prevention, linking individual competencies with systemic changes in daycare centers, schools, and youth services.
First implementation in Bochum
Since May 2023, the Urban Mental Health project has been implemented in Bochum as a model initiative — with strong engagement and broad participation. Numerous schools and daycare centers have joined the project and benefited from its interventions. Feedback from the field has been highly encouraging: The measures are effective, adaptable, and strengthen not only the children, but also the professionals and institutions as a whole.
A model for the future
Urban Mental Health is more than a project — it represents a new understanding of how mental health can emerge and be supported: within everyday life, responsive to individual needs. All measures are developed in close collaboration with local stakeholders — on equal footing, demand-oriented, and together with professionals, parents, and children and adolescents. Digital tools such as online surveys and smartphone-based feedback systems enable timely, low-barrier monitoring and evaluation of the measures, as well as continuous adaptation to local needs.