The number of people experiencing mental health difficulties in the Czech Republic continues to rise. Psychiatric clinics, crisis centres, and child psychiatry services are unable to keep up with the growing demand. SOS helplines are also seeing a significant increase in calls. What worries people the most?
“Clients who reach out to our SOS Line usually come with long‑term, unresolved problems. These are often serious issues: alongside relationship difficulties, we see a large increase in communication barriers at the workplace. Common topics include mobbing, bossing, overwork, burnout, insomnia, and depression,” says Dagmar Najbrtová, Head of SOS Line Consultants at pme Familienservice | Život do firmy. She adds that both the length of calls and the number of contacts per case have doubled compared to previous years.
“The SOS Line at pme Familienservice has also recorded a sharp rise in calls related to workplace conflicts. We have seen a 27% increase in serious mental health issues requiring acute and long‑term support, and 23% of calls now concern mental health problems in children,” adds the Head of the Consultant Team.
The Czech Republic is facing a shortage of psychiatrists — especially child psychiatrists — and there is still a lack of clinical psychologists and psychotherapists. Waiting times for therapy often reach six months for children and up to one year for adults. According to the 2022 annual report of Linka bezpečí, chat and online counselling on crisis lines have also increased significantly. Serious topics are on the rise: suicide‑related contacts increased by 9%, school bullying by 14%, and domestic violence by 10%. Other frequent issues among children include self‑harm, cyberbullying, anxiety, insomnia, and eating disorders.
“Mental health is now a priority for the Ministry of Health, and the European Union is preparing a joint strategy to support mental wellbeing. Funding for mental health care has long been insufficient both in the Czech Republic and across the EU, and systemic changes are urgently needed,” notes Zuzana Rambousková, Managing Director of pme Familienservice.
Some employers in the Czech Republic are already aware of the importance of supporting employees’ mental health and offer dedicated SOS Lines for their staff. Examples of good practice include Commerzbank, HENNLICH, and CeWe.
“The SOS Line works on the principle of a crisis helpline — it is anonymous. We provide first‑line support for personal and work‑related concerns, including legal and financial counselling. We offer mental health support not only to employees but to their families as well. Employees can call at any time; our consultants are available 24/7. The effectiveness of the service depends heavily on how well the employer communicates it. On average, 3–8% of employees use the SOS Line. Trust is essential,”
concludes Zuzana Rambousková.