The Ministry of Social Affairs is expanding early mental health services and providing €277,000 in additional funding, aimed at getting people help before problems escalate.
The funding is intended to strengthen a stepped-care system that ranges from self-help tools to specialist treatment, with the goal of improving access and reducing late intervention.
Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller (Reform) said the plan is to centralize resources in a single digital platform.
“We are trying to bring these materials together into one logical place online — the health information system,” she said.
Joller described the stepped care model as a tiered system of support, with the first level focusing on self-help resources such as books and online materials, and the second involving low-intensity psychological support delivered outside specialist care settings, including by school and municipal psychologists.
“The third level is psychotherapy, where a family doctor and psychotherapist work together to help [the patient],” she continued, adding that the fourth level is psychiatric care.
The nonprofit Vaikuseminutid, one of Estonia’s state-funded early intervention providers, said prevention is critical.
“Young folks already in a difficult place mental health-wise often may not be very open to accepting help,” noted Vaikuseminutid board member Lii Kaudne.
She said mindfulness-based exercises can help people better manage stress and build resilience.
“Studies show that mindfulness exercises are very effective in training and strengthening the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS),” Kaudne said, explaining that this helps people recover from stress more easily.
Under the new support scheme, more than 1,000 people are expected to receive early mental healthcare each year.
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