2nd full-day Conference of CAMHI

Andreas C. Dracopoulos is Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), an international philanthropic organization that has made over 5,500 grants to nonprofits worldwide aiming to achieve broad, lasting, and positive impact for society.

Andreas is a Trustee of The Rockefeller University and NewYork–Presbyterian in New York and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. He is also a Board of Advisors Trustee at the New York Public Library, which recognized him in 2012 for his contributions to the Library’s educational programs. At Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Andreas is Co-Chair of the SNF Agora Institute’s Board of Overseers and serves on the Advisory Board of the Berman Institute of Bioethics.

He has provided longstanding personal support to many projects in education, arts and culture, and medicine, including the founding grant to establish the Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS. He also supported the creation of the Dracopoulos-Bloomberg Bioethics iDeas Lab and endowed the directorship at JHU’s Berman Institute of Bioethics.

In 2023, he received The Rockefeller University’s 2023 Enlightened Philanthropy Award. In 2022, the New York Landmarks Conservancy honored Andreas as a Living Landmark for his contributions to New York City, and in 2021 he was made an FDNY Honorary Battalion Chief, the organization’s highest civilian honor. He received France’s rank of the Officer of the Legion of Honor in 2016 and Greece’s Grand Cross of the Order of Honor in 2018.

Andreas was born and raised in Athens, Greece, and graduated from Athens College. He has received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business, an honorary doctorate from the departments of Medicine and Nursing at the University of Athens, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from JHU, and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University. He lives in New York City.

Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, is the founding President and Medical Director of the Child Mind Institute and is a senior child and adolescent psychiatrist in the Psychopharmacology Center. One of the nation’s leading child and adolescent psychiatrists, he is known as an innovator in the field, a strong advocate for child mental health and a master clinician.

The mission of the Child Mind Institute, founded in 2009 by Dr. Koplewicz, Brooke Garber Neidich and Debra Perelman, is to:

Offer best-in-class evidence-based clinical care

Engage the global scientific community in visionary research to discover more effective treatments

Educate and empower parents by providing trustworthy information and resources

Use passionate advocacy to remove the stigma associated with psychiatric disorders

Dr. Koplewicz continues to guide the Institute towards accomplishing this mission. He has been repeatedly recognized in America’s Top Doctors, Best Doctors in America and New York Magazine‘s “Best Doctors in New York,” and was named one of WebMD’s 2014 Health Heroes for his advocacy on behalf of children with psychiatric or learning disorders. He has been the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology since 1997.

Marios Themistocleous is the Deputy Minister of Health in Greece.

He graduated from the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian

University of Athens and he has a Ph.D. at the Medical School of the

University of Athens and a Master of Science in management of health

units.

Marios served as the Secretary General of Primary Health Care from 2020

to 2023, as the Coordinator of the Vaccination Program against Covid-19

and the Special Advisory Committee of the Health Initiative Stavros

Niarchos Foundation on behalf of the Presidency of the Government.

He has also served as the President of the National Central Health

Procurement Authority, member of the Coordination and Monitoring

Committee of the Government's Policy for the Covid-19 pandemic, the

President of the Chief Committee of the Health Sector Insurance Fund (TSAY)

and Vice President on the Board of Directors of ETAA (Unified Fund of the

Self Employed).

As a neurosurgeon, he has worked in hospitals in the United Kingdom, at

"Evangelismos" General Hospital, and as a Registrar Α at the

Neurosurgical Clinic of "Agia Sofia" Children's Hospital.

Dimitris Vartzopoulos was born on November 11, 1957, the son of Chrysostomos, a craftsman, and Fani Lichrida, a philologist from Asvestochori, Thessaloniki.

He graduated with honors (19 9/10) from the 2nd High School of Kavala, ranked first in the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1975, received a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) throughout his studies, and graduated with honors (9/10) in 1981. He specialized in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Clinics of Bonn and Cologne and was awarded a Doctorate from the University of Bonn in 1990. He worked as a Scientific Associate at the University Clinics of the University of Thessaloniki for several years. He has worked and continues to work as a private psychiatrist and Scientific Director of a private psychiatric clinic.

In Public Administration, he served as Governor of the Health Region of Macedonia from 2004 to 2009.

He served as Deputy Minister of Health and Social Solidarity in the Papademos Government in 2011-2012.

In 2012, he was invited by Antonis Samaras to establish the General Secretariat for Government Coordination, where he served as the head for approximately 2.5 years.

In the July 2019 parliamentary elections, he was elected Member of Parliament for the first time.

In the May 2023 elections, he was re-elected as the first Member of Parliament in the B' electoral district of Thessaloniki.

Following the June 2023 elections, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Health by the decision of the Prime Minister and President of New Democracy, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Dr. Anastasia Koumoula is a Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist. She completed her medical studies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and specialized in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Neurology-Psychiatry. Subsequently, she completed postgraduate training at the Institute of Psychiatry and Maudsley Hospital in London and obtained a PhD from the School of Psychiatry of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens.

She played a key role in the establishment of the Pallini Medical and Educational Centre, where she was Director for ten years, and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Sismanoglio General Hospital, where she served as Coordinating Director for thirteen years.

Dr. Koumoula was responsible for the training of residents in child psychiatry for more than twenty years and undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students and taught in university psychology departments in Athens, as well as in postgraduate programs at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens.

She has participated in publications in Greek and international scientific journals, in writing chapters in Greek scientific books and has been scientific editor of publications. She has also presented her research work in Greek and international conferences.

Her research activity includes participation in international and Greek research protocols.

She was a regular member of the tripartite examination committee for the qualification of the specialty in Child Psychiatry for twelve years, as well as President of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health for 14 years until today.

Dr. Koumoula is the Director of the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Initiative and a member of its Scientific Steering Committee.

Giovanni A. Salum MD, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Global Programs at the Child Mind Institute.

His interests include helping the co-construction of grassroots solutions to problems in underserved populations, democratizing access and training in psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents, and developing novel technologies that can be implemented in real-world settings to assess and treat mental health conditions.

Dr. Salum is a tenured Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Brazil, currently on leave to work at the Child Mind Institute. He directed the mental health services of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre from 2021-2022, the adult and the child & adolescent unit of the community center for mental health services in the same hospital from 2019 to 2021, and the mental health system of Porto Alegre, a Brazilian city with 1.5 million inhabitants, from 2017 and 2019, being responsible for all the mental health care services of the town.

He has experience in epidemiology, developmental psychopathology, and treatment research in the public health system. He is the principal investigator of large research projects such as the Brazilian High-Risk Cohort Study for Mental Conditions (BHRCS), the Pragmatic trial on Telepsychotherapy for health workers facing the COVID-19 pandemic (TelePSI), and the Brazilian National Census of Quality of Care in Community Psychiatry.

He received numerous honors, including awards from the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and the Society of Biological Psychiatry. He has more than 200 publications, including publications in the most prestigious journals in mental health sciences, such as the American Journal of Psychiatry and JAMA Psychiatry. His work has been well received by peers, reflected in more than 10.000 citations. He is currently associate editor of the Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry.

Konstantinos Kotsis is an Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece. He is the Ηead of the Community Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (KoKePSYPE) of the Department of Psychiatry at the University General Hospital of Ioannina. He holds postgraduate degrees in Social Psychiatry and in Health Care Management. He has worked in the National Health System as well as in the KEDASY of the Ministry of Education. His research work includes participation in various research projects and publications in peer-reviewed journals, mainly in the fields of Consultation - Liaison Psychiatry, Developmental Disorders, and Mental Health Services. He has received further training at the Child Mind Institute in New York, USA, in data analysis and quality of care in mental health services. He is a board member of the Hellenic Society for Systemic Thinking & Family Psychotherapy (HESTAFTA) and of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ESCAP). He has served as President of the Hellenic Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (HSCAP).

Konstantinos Kotsis is the head of CAMHI's hub center in Ioannina and a member of CAMHI's scientific coordinating committee.

Aspasia Serdari graduated from the Medical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and completed her PhD thesis in Child Psychiatry at the Medical School of Democritus University of Thrace. She is a Professor at the Medical School and the Department of Educational Sciences at the Democritus University of Thrace and is responsible for the Child Psychiatry Section in the Postgraduate Program "Social Psychiatry”. She participates as a lecturer in more than 10 other postgraduate programs. 

She is the Director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the Democritus University of Thrace at the University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis. The Department follows the principles of Community Child Psychiatry and includes the units of the Social Center for Mental Health for Children and Adolescents and the Preventive-Consultative Child Psychiatry Unit.  As the Head of the Interdisciplinary Team of the Department, she collaborates with Social Services, the Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education for students with special educational needs, as well as with child and adolescent forensic psychiatry services. Her research focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders, behavioral problems in children with epilepsy, school bullying, supportive technology in education, and the stigma of mental health in childhood. She has participated as a member of examining and advisory committees for more than 150 Master's theses and 34 PhD dissertations. She has published research articles, written book chapters, and is a peer reviewer for research articles in international journals. She has been actively practicing   Child Psychiatry for more than 24 years.

Ioannis Bousdounis is a teacher in special education, which he knows very well as he has served it for 25 years in various positions (Inclusion Department, Diagnostic Assessment and Support Centres, Centres for Differential Diagnosis, Screening, and Support for Special Educational Needs, etc.). He is the ψ. He holds a master’s degree in “Educational Sciences-Educational Technology”, and is a level B trainer in the project “Training Teachers in the Use and Utilization of Information and Communications Technology in the educational teaching process”. He has a rich educational activity in teacher training programs in special education and/or new technologies, having taught in training programs of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Aegean University, the IInstitute of Computer Technology and Publishing "Diophantus", and the Education Policy Institute.

Marianna Hatzopoulou (Ph.D.) is the Head of the 2nd KE.D.A.S.Y.  Β' Athens (Local Interdisciplinary Assessment and Support Centre, 2nd B' Athens). She is a SEN teacher, qualified for the Deaf, and a Greek Sign Language Interpreter. She earned her PhD in Greek Sign Language Acquisition from Stockholm University, Department of Linguistics. She has published one monograph in English, has publications in international journals and books, and has made numerous presentations at Greek and European conferences.

Her research interests include special education, inclusion, behavioral problems, and language development.

Argyro Manona was born in Athens and is a mother of twins. She works at the Water Supply and Sewerage Company of the Capital (EYDAP S.A.).

She holds a degree from the Political Science Department of the Law School of Athens and a degree in Library Science from the former Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Western Athens in Egaleo.

Her professional background includes experience in the claims sector of insurance companies, the hospitality industry on an Ionian island, and a role at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport.

Driven by personal experience as a single parent and having a close family member facing health challenges, she actively participates in parenting and mental health seminars.

She is also involved in the Association of Parents and Guardians of the Unified Special Vocational High School of Peristeri.

Zampeta Tzakosta is a graduate of the Department of French Language and Literature at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) and holds a Master's degree in "Teaching French as a Foreign Language" from the School of Humanities at the Hellenic Open University. Her Master's thesis focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools for the development of pedagogical scenarios related to the certification exams of the French Language (A1-A2 KPg), with an emphasis on developing writing skills in Secondary Education.

She is certified in the use of the Italian language (level C1) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) (level B1). She applies innovative teaching practices such as Differentiated Instruction and the CLIL method. She has participated in European educational programs, such as EPAS and Erasmus+, and is involved in European and national training actions.

For the 2024-25 academic year, she is appointed School Life Counselor at the Zosimaia Experimental Senior High School in Ioannina.

Konstantinos Mperkis was diagnosed from a young age with attention deficit disorder, ADHD, dyslexia and autism. Education has been and continues to be a challenging but rewarding pursuit for him. With great struggle in his senior year of high school, he got into the biology department of the NKUA where he is currently conducting his thesis on proteomics of multiple myeloma cell lines. He hopes to continue his career with postgraduate and doctoral studies in cancer research. In addition to his academic career, he is involved in various creative hobbies such as sketching, creative writing, and others.

Anna Kynthia Bousdoukou is iMEdD Co-founder and Managing Director, SNF Dialogues Executive Director, and a journalist. iMEdD (incubator for Media Education and Development) is a nonprofit journalism organization established in 2018 with exclusive support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). iMEdD, which is the only internationally oriented journalism institution based in Greece, has as its primary mission supporting and promoting transparency and credibility in journalism.

Since 2016, Anna Kynthia has collaborated with SNF and other partners on international programs and grants related to journalism while simultaneously serving as Executive Director of the SNF Dialogues initiative, launched in November 2017. The Dialogues, which she curates and coordinates, offer a multimedia platform that encourages the exchange of ideas and highlights the need for us as citizens to communicate and express ourselves on a basis of equality and diversity.

In 2020, she received the Giorgos Karayiannis Journalism and Technology Award for her contributions to the creation and administration of iMEdD, as well as her work for SNF related to the Foundation’s efforts to support high-quality journalism and other projects that benefit society. This distinction was awarded as part of the Athanasios V. Botsis Foundation awards for the Promotion of Journalism.

In the past, she has presented the news and headed a morning television news program. She has also worked as a radio reporter and then as a news editor and producer while writing for various publications.

She holds a degree in Sociology from Panteion University, specializing in the sociology of mass media.

Photo credit: Petros Toufexis

Valia Dimitrakopoulou was born in Athens. She studied Media and worked as a journalist for K magazine of Kathimerini. In 2009, she moved to Paris for postgraduate studies. There, she completed two master's degrees in communication and cultural mediation while also working in the startup sector.

In 2022, she returned to Greece and currently works at the production companies Topcut Modiano and Byrd.

Since 2021, she has been writing for  Don’t Tell Me How It Ends (howitends.substack.com), a personal newsletter focusing on mental health, identity, and parenting. In March, in collaboration with iMEdD and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, she will present BiPolar Opposites, anaudio documentary shedding light on a taboo condition that affects 4% of the population: bipolar disorder.

As someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she actively advocates for the destigmatization of mental illnesses, using journalism and storytelling as tools to foster understanding and acceptance.

Irene Caselli is a multimedia reporter and writer, with two decades of experience in radio, TV and print, now focusing on early childhood, caregivers, and reproductive rights. She is a senior advisor for the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, leading their Early Childhood Journalism Initiative.

For a decade, Caselli was a foreign correspondent in Latin America, reporting for the BBC, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times, and others. In January 2021, she launched her own newsletter, The First 1,000 Days, where she writes about early childhood, partly influenced by her experience as a mother of Lorenzo and León.

She published a chapter in Unbias the News, a book about making journalism more diverse. One of her short films on women’s football and gender inequality received a prize for collaborative journalism. Caselli speaks six languages (English, Italian, Spanish, German, French, and Portuguese), and is now learning Greek.

Marina Economou Lalioti is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She's the Head of the Social Psychiatry Unit of the University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “Costas Stefanis” (U.M.H.R.I.) and the Vice-President of the World Association for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (W.A.P.R.).

She was the Head of the "Anti-Stigma" program of the University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “Costas Stefanis” (U.M.H.R.I.), who developed a series of actions to combat the stigma that accompanies mental illness.

Her clinical work mainly concerns the delivery of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic interventions targeting both the patient and the family, with a primary clinical interest in family psychoeducational techniques and consultation.

Her research work focuses on the fields of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, particularly on aspects of the social stigma surrounding mental illness, as well as the impact of crises (economic crisis, pandemic) on mental health, and is reflected in over 800 foreign and Greek publications in reputable scientific journals and books.

Her educational work includes more than 6000 hours of total education at undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral level in the context of seminars, educational programs, workshops and conferences, as well as in the organization and scientific responsibility of the Postgraduate Seminar "Psychoeducation: Interventions in the individual, the family, the group".

Evangelini (Lilian) Athanasopoulou is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and the Coordinating Director of the National Health System (NHS) at the Child-Adolescent Psychiatry Department of G.N. "G. Papanikolaou." She studied at the Medical School of A.U.Th. and later obtained her specialization in Child-Adolescent Psychiatry, which she has been practicing continuously since 1994. She is trained in various forms of psychotherapy, including systemic, psychodynamic, and drama therapy. From 1996 to 2019, she was also a lecturer in the Psychiatric Nursing Specialization Program (organized by P.H.Th.). Furthermore, she was a Scientific Associate at the Child-Adolescent Service of the 3rd University Psychiatric Clinic at AHEPA Hospital from 1995 to 2003. In the early years of her career, she worked as a private Child Psychiatrist, and since 2001, she has been serving in the NHS. Since May 2022, she has been the Coordinating Director of the NHS at the Child-Adolescent Psychiatry Department of G.N. "G. Papanikolaou." For the past three years, she has been a core lecturer in the Postgraduate Program "Adolescent Medicine and Adolescent Health Care" at the Medical Department of the School of Health Sciences at A.U.Th. At the same time, she has been an external collaborator at the University of Thessaly in the MSc program "Counseling Psychology and Counseling in Special Education, Training, and Health" (2009-present). She is married and has two sons, aged 32 and 34. Currently, she is participating in a training program for the development of educational material for professional foster parents of children with disabilities and their trainers, organized by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA). She is also the head of CAMHI's hub center in Thessaloniki and also a member of CAMHI's Coordinating Scientific Committee.

Nikos Zilikis is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry – Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He contributed to the establishment of the first Psychiatric Department in a General Hospital in Greece (Alexandroupolis), and after his training in France, he organized the Child and Adolescent Unit of the 3rd Dpt of Psychiatry at the AHEPA University Hospital. He served as president of the Hellenic Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (two mandates) and as vice president of the International Society for Adolescent Psychiatry (ISAP). He organized and directed the Adolescent Unit of AHEPA during its ten-year functioning. Nikos Zilikis also served as a member and president of the local jury (Thessaloniki) for the Child and Adolescent medical specialty until his retirement. During the last 15 years, he has been a Professor at the MSc of Social Psychiatry of the Democritus University of Thrace; he also teaches at MSc programs at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Athens. He is a member of the team of experts in the medical specialty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is the head of CAMHI's hub center in Thessaloniki and a member of its Scientific Steering Committee.

Ekaterini Karaindrou has been a member of the Judiciary since 2010 and since 2016 she has been serving as a civil and criminal Judge in Thessaloniki’s Court of First Instance (specialized in family law cases since 2020). She is also responsible in the Court for judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters under the EU Regulations (requests for certificates and for evidence).

Since 2022 she has been a trainer at the National School of Judiciary (Civil and Criminal Justice) in the fields of Civil Procedure and Civil Law.

She is an elected member of the Management Board of Thessaloniki's Court of First Instance, a speaker at national conferences on civil procedure and family law issues and she also publishes studies in Greek legal reviews on the same issues.

George Nikolaidis studied Medicine and Psychiatry. He was awarded a PhD thesis on “Epidemiology”, an MSc degree in “Philosophy of Mental Disorder” from KCL, University of London, and an MA degree in “Psychoanalytic Studies” from the University of Sheffield.

His scientific interests include a range of issues involving Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Protection, Public Health Sciences, and Epidemiology. Accordingly, he has published scientific monographs and articles - delivered several presentations in scientific conferences on the aforementioned topics. He was involved as a Scientific Coordinator or as a Main Researcher in research, training, and clinical projects (funded by FP7, DAPHNE, ISEC, REC, ERASMUS+, SFP for Greece, UNICEF or international charity funds or NGOs, etc.) related to child protection, violence, and epidemiology. He participated as a trainer in various on-the-job professionals’ training courses, teaching undergraduate and post-graduate courses at several Universities. He has previously worked in psychosocial rehabilitation and mental health services practicing clinical psychiatry. Since 09/2005 he has been the Head of the Department of Mental Health and Social Welfare of the Institute of Child Health; from 11/2014 up to 03/2020 he developed and was the Scientific Coordinator of the Day Center “The House of the Child” providing treatment to children victims of abuse/neglect of the NGO “The Smile of the Child”; from 11/2014 until 03/2019 was Advocacy and Networking Consultant of Lumos Foundation project in Greece and from May 2023 is the Scientific Coordinator of 2 Day Centers for providing community mental health services operated by the NGO “Thalpos”.

He is the national representative of Greece to WHO for child abuse and neglect issues and CoE’s Lanzarote Committee in which he has been elected Member of its Bureau (2014-2016 and again from 2023 until today), Vice-Chair (2016-2018) and Chairperson (2018-2020).

Theodora Niopa is a social worker with a master’s degree in Social Work and 15 years of experience in Child Protection. She is the Director of the 24/7 Incident Report and Counseling Center of “Initiative for the Child” in Veria, where she has handled numerous cases of multiple victimized children, from the initial report of abuse to the completion of the legal proceedings against the perpetrators.

She has received training in Forensic Interviewing of Minors at the National Children's Advocacy Center (NCAC) in Alabama and is a final-year postgraduate student in Forensic Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry at the School of Medicine of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.).

Her research focuses on topics such as Betrayal Trauma within the Family, Resilience in Adolescents who have Experienced Trauma, and Social Network Analysis of Adolescents and Young People with Deviant Behavior.

Dimitrios Ntzouras was born in Athens, where he currently resides. He holds a degree in Social Work from the Higher Technological Educational Institute of Patras (Social Worker) and a degree in Sociology from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”.

He worked for two years as an external collaborator and researcher at the same university and has been with SOS Children’s Villages Greece since 1992, serving in various roles.

Currently, he is the Program Manager for Prevention Programs (Child and Family Support Centers – Learning and Educational Support Centers) and the Head of the Research and Documentation Department of the organization.

Katerina Papanikolaou is a Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Head of the University Child Psychiatry Department at Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, and Head of CAMHI's hub center in Athens. She graduated from the Medical School of NKUA, where she also completed her doctoral dissertation. After obtaining her specialization in Child Psychiatry, she pursued further training in the United Kingdom, focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Cognitive Psychotherapy. Her clinical and research interests include neurodevelopmental disorders across the life span, Cognitive Psychotherapy, and broader issues of child and adolescent psychopathology

Dr. Vaios Dafoulis is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and has been working as the Director of the Child Psychiatry Department at G.H.Th. Ippokratio since 2015. From 2020 until the present, he is also the Director of the Psychiatry Sector at G.H.Th. Ippokrateio. He graduated from the Anavryta Experimental School of Athens in 1986 and obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Athens in 1994 with a grade of "Very Good." He was trained at the 2nd University Psychiatric Clinic of A.U.Th., where he received supervised training in various types of psychotherapy. In 2002, he obtained his specialization title in Child Psychiatry in Thessaloniki. He worked on European deinstitutionalization programs at the Children's Care Center "Agios Dimitrios" (2002-2005). From 2005 to 2007, he was the Scientific Supervisor of the Psychopedagogical Center at the Psychiatric Hospital of Thessaloniki, where he also established the Mobile Unit of the same center. In 2008, he was awarded a Doctorate in Medicine from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, focusing on Mood Disorders in Childhood Epilepsy, with a grade of "Excellent." For the past five years, he has been teaching in the Postgraduate Program in Pediatric Physiotherapy at the 3rd Pediatric Clinic. In 2008, he was certified as an EABCT-Cognitive Behavioral Therapist by the European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

Dr. Dafoulis is head of CAMHI's hub center in Thessaloniki and a member of CAMHI's Coordinating Scientific Committee.

Katerina Aggeli is a Clinical Psychology PhD at the University of Athens, Greece. She is a certified Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist and Schema Therapist for adults, children, and adolescents. She is a founding member, member of the Board, trainer, and supervisor in the Greek Society of Cognitive and Behavioural Studies (https://cbt.edu.gr) and in the Greek Society of Schema Therapy (https://schematherapy.gr). She is also trained in Group Schema Therapy and in the good-enough-parenting training program (John Louis & Caren McDonald Louis). She is a lecturer in the post-graduate Clinical Psychology Program (University of Athens, Greece), in the fields of Group Dynamics, CBT developmental psychopathology and CBT intervention for children and families. She participates in scientific conferences and she authors books, book chapters and articles in scientific journals. She initiated the book series “Sketch it out”; Beating Panic”, was published in 2019 by Pedio Publications. She works in private practice since 1999.

Κaterina Aggeli is a scientific associate of the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Initiative.

George Kartsopoulos is a Chemical Engineer with extensive experience in production, quality control, and safety management. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and a Master of Science in Textile Dyeing and Finishing from the University of Leeds.

From 1993 to 2020, he worked as a Production and Quality Engineer, and since 2020, he has been serving as a Safety Engineer at the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios.

He is a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece and the Panhellenic Association of Chemical Engineers.

Georgios Giannakopoulos is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Child Psychiatry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens at “Agia Sofia” Children’s Hospital. His research focuses on trauma, family dynamics, and the impact of parental health on children. He has published over 70 papers in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to book chapters and conference proceedings. His published work has an H-index of 25. He has supervised several postgraduate dissertations and participates actively in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in child and adolescent psychiatry and health promotion. He has participated in numerous research projects, both as a contributor and as a principal investigator. He is a member of various scientific societies and has participated as a reviewer in 50 international journals.

Manos Tsalamanios is the Director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Director of the Mental Health Sector at "Asklepieio Voulas" General Hospital. He is a Family Psychotherapist and a member of the Standing Committee of the National Action Plan for Mental Health, as well as the Patients' Rights Committee of the Ministry of Health. Additionally, he serves as a regular member of the Examination Committee for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry specialty.

He has completed postgraduate training in Adolescent Psychopathology at the Menninger Clinic in Houston, TX, and holds a Master's degree in Bioethics from Democritus University of Thrace. He is also a lecturer in postgraduate programs at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the University of Thessaly.

He is the President of the Hellenic Society of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Maria Basta is a Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, University of Crete, and Director of the Departments of Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece. She also works as the Scientific Director of the Day Care Center for Alzheimer’s Disease "Nefeli", affiliated with the University Hospital of Heraklion.

She earned her M.D. from the Medical School of Crete in 1997 and completed her Residency in Psychiatry at the University Hospital of Heraklion in 2006. She obtained her Ph.D. from the Medical School of Crete in 2003. She pursued postdoctoral training in Sleep Medicine at the Sleep Research and Treatment Center, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, USA (2006-2007).

Dr. Basta is an active researcher, currently involved in several research grants as a co-/primary investigator, focusing on sleep, aging, cognitive function, psychopathology, stress, inflammation, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). She has published over 100 original and review articles, with more than 4,000 citations and an h-index of 32.

She holds the European Somnologist certification as an expert in Sleep Medicine (2015) and is a certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (CBT, 2022).

She is CAMHI's hub leader in Crete and steering committee member.

Evanthia Botsa is a graduate of the Medical School of the University of Athens with a specialization in Pediatrics and a subspecialty in Infectious Diseases. She holds a Ph.D. from the Medical School of the University of Athens.

She is the Director of Medical Services and Chair of the Hospital Infection Control Committee at the Children’s Hospital “Agia Sofia” and a Coordinating Director at the 1st Pediatric Clinic, Children's Hospital “Agia Sofia”.

She actively participates in scientific events and clinical studies. She is the author of several publications and a lecturer in both postgraduate and undergraduate programs.

She serves as a member of medical evaluation and selection councils for the Greek National Health System of the 1st Regional Health Authority. She is the former representative of the Children’s Hospital “Agia Sofia” at the National Public Health Coordination Committee, a member of the COVID-19 Management Task Force at the Children’s Hospital “Agia Sofia,” a member of the committee for implementing protocols and supervising pediatric COVID-19 patient care in children’s hospitals under the 1st Regional Health Authority and a member of the committee for managing acute hepatitis of unknown etiology. Evanthia Botsi is an active member of the Hospital’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, Drug Committee, and Scientific Council.

She participates as a member of editorial boards of scientific journals, organizational and scientific committees of conferences, and ot the Ethics and Deontology Committee of the Institute of Child Health.

She is a member of scientific organizations such as the European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID), the Hellenic Society for Infectious Diseases, the Hellenic Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and the Scientific Organization for Child and Adolescent Health.

Neny (Panagiota) Pervanidou is a Professor of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics at the School of Medicine of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Since 2007 she has been the Scientific Head of the Unit of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, NKUA at the "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital. She completed her Doctoral Dissertation (PhD) in the Neurobiology of PTSD in children and adolescents in the A’ Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Child Psychiatry,  School of Medicine, NKUA. She was trained  in Developmental Pediatrics in Greece and at the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, USA. In 2018-19 she received the Fulbright Scholarship for Postgraduate Studies in the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), USA. She is a founding member and the President of the “Hellenic Society of Developmental Pediatricians”. She has organized 13 annual Panhellenic Congresses of Developmental Pediatrics and numerous seminars.

Stavroula Ilia received her MD from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. She is Board-certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care and holds a PhD in Medicine. She is also an APLS provider and full instructor. Her research interests include critically ill children, and she has published several papers in reputable journals. As an Associate Professor in Pediatric Critical Care at the School of Medicine at the University of Crete (UoC), she has over seven years of teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her teaching philosophy revolves around creating an inclusive and engaging learning environment that encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills. All these are fulfilled through her position as the Head of the Scientific Board of the MSc Program “Emergencies and Intensive Care in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults,” UoC. Furthermore, she serves as the Director of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in the affiliated University Hospital in Heraklion, where she provides direct patient care, mentorship, and leadership.

Athina Karpouzi is a General Practitioner at the Primary Rural Health Center of Neapoli, Region of Lasithi, Greece. She is the Vice President of Hippocrates, Association of General Practice/Family Medicine of Greece and a member of EURACT (European Academy of Teachers in General Practice/Family Medicine), a certified trainer in the “Teaching the Teachers Course, Level 2” of the European Academy of Teachers in General Family Medicine, and a candidate for certification in the “Leonardo EURACT Level 3 Course – From Proficient to Expert Teacher Course.”

She served as Deputy Coordinator of Training for General Family Medicine Residents at the General Hospital of Agios Nikolaos, Lasithi, from 2016 to 2021, and as a Coordinator of Resident Training in General Family Medicine in the Lasithi region from 2021 to 2024.

From 2019 to 2022, she was the Deputy Coordinator of the Primary Healthcare Sector in the Regional Unit of Lasithi (ToPFY).

Since the beginning of the pandemic, she has been the Supervising Physician and Coordinator of the Mobile Health Units of the National Public Health Organization (EODY) in the Regional Unit of Lasithi.

Since obtaining her specialization in General Family Medicine, she has been an external collaborator of the Medical School of the University of Crete. Since 2014, she has actively participated in numerous educational activities as a workshop trainer, speaker, and chair of lectures and roundtable discussions, as well as in the planning and realization of training programs.

Dr Jennifer Hall leads the mental health work in the WHO office in Greece, including the WHO Regional Office for Europe work on quality of child and adolescent mental health care and WHO support to the government of Greece in mental health.

From the UK, she trained as a clinical psychologist and worked clinically between the UK and Uganda for ten years before joining WHO. She has worked with WHO for seven years: she started at headquarters working on scalable psychological interventions, and then she was the Mental Health Focal point for the Pacific Islands based in Fiji.

Key achievements include leading the development of the first WHO European Region Quality of Care Standards for Child and Youth Mental Health Services, co-developing a WHO digital psychological intervention for adolescents, and spearheading youth participation to strengthen the WHO workstream on quality of child and adolescent mental health care.  

Ester Camprodon Rosanas is a psychologist with a PhD in Psychiatry from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Medical Director and Director of the Henka Project at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, a position she has held for the past year. From 2017 to 2024, she was the Deputy Director of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Department at the same hospital. With over 20 years of experience in the field of child and adolescent, she has worked in both community centers (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) and hospitals. Throughout her career, she has combined clinical, teaching, and research activities.

She is an associate professor at Ramon Llull University and teaches in the Master’s Program in Neuropsychiatry and Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Currently, she is involved in both clinical work and research at the Specialized Unit in Early-Onset Psychotic Disorders of Sant Joan de Déu Hospital.

George Moschos studied Law in Athens and Criminology (M. Phil) in London. He was trained through seminars in self-awareness, adult education, organization of youth clubs, and drama for children. He has worked to encourage and support children and adolescents at risk of social exclusion, defending youth rights, and teaching professionals, students, and volunteers in his field of expertise. In 2003, he was appointed as the first Children’s Ombudsman in Greece (Deputy Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights) and served in this position until January 2018. He has been a member of the board and chairperson of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children. As a children’s rights expert, he has collaborated with the Council of Europe and many other organizations. He is a founding member of the Initiative for Article 12 UNCRC (InArt.12). Since June 2022, he has been collaborating with the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Initiative, as Director of the Youth Engagement Scheme YES. 

Savvas Metaxas is an experienced professional in the field of educational and social support, specializing in the supervision of youth shelters and psychosocial empowerment. He has worked since 2007 in SOS Children's Villages of Greece, as a pedagogue and covering positions of responsibility, such as Head of Youth House in Athens and Thessaloniki, with an emphasis on team coordination, crisis management, and planning of self-determination programs.

Since 2024 he has been responsible for the coordination of the Athens Youth Advisory Group in the context of the Youth Engagement Scheme (YES). At the same time, he is active in implementing proposals and actions resulting from the Youth Engagement Scheme activities in high schools of Attica city. 

He holds a BA in Sociology from Panteion University and an MA in Cultural Studies from Loughborough University. He is actively involved in experimental music and landscape photography. He has been involved in cultural projects, promoting artistic expression to vocational high school students.

Alice Vassilarakou is a Computer Science and Mathematics educator with extensive experience in secondary education. She has been working at the 2nd Daily Vocational High School of Aigaleo since 2000. She holds a degree from the Department of Mathematics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and a master's degree from the Department of Informatics at NKUA, specializing in "High-Performance Algorithms." Among other qualifications, she has attended seminars in School Psychology, Mental Health Literacy, and the Prevention of School Bullying. This academic year she is pursuing a master's program on "Identity, Education, and Competences for Democratic Culture" at NKUA.

Her interests include supporting the psychosocial development of adolescents, promoting inclusion in the school community, school mediation, and empowering students through experiential activities, aiming to create a safe and supportive environment for all students. Since 2022, she has been participating as an educator-collaborator in CAMHI's Youth Engagement Scheme YES.

Patil Bargoudian was born in 2006 in Athens. She comes from Armenia. She graduated from the Armenian Primary and Secondary School "Kyanous Stavros" as well as from the 2nd General High School of Daphni. He is currently studying at the Agricultural University of Athens, School of Environment and Agricultural Engineering, Department of Natural Resources Utilization and Agricultural Engineering. In 2022, she participated as a Teen Councillor in the 6th Session of the House of Adolescents, held at the Greek Parliament. During the school year 2019-2020, she participated in the Hellenic Mathematical Society's competition, where she qualified from the " Thalis" phase to the "Euclid" phase. In addition, in 2022, she was awarded the 2nd Special Praise in the 10th Literary Contest for Adolescent Short Stories and Poetry "Grigoris Pentzikis". During 2022-2023, she was a member of the Teenage Advisory Group of Athens. She maintains a special interest in writing articles and texts, reading books and nature trips.

Arkadios Giotis is 19 years old and loves riding his bicycle. During his second year of high school, he had the opportunity to participate in a program called YES, which focuses on the mental health of young people today. At first, he didn't know much about this topic and was curious to understand what is going on with young people today and how mental health plays a role in it.

Through the meetings and activities he did with YES, he can now say that he has learned a lot more, and he can support a friend—or even himself—while also taking part in various creative and public activities, such as presentations and events like this one.

Elda Tafani is 19 years old and comes from Albania. She was a member of the CAMHI's teenage advisory group in Athens in 2022-23., a member of the YES Youth Engagement Scheme. She studied Nursery Care at the 2nd Vocational School (EPA.L.) of Egaleo 2021-24 and completed the Nail Academy by Nyhi Nyhi 2023. At the same time, she studies Early Childhood Education at the University of Athens. She has been active for years in dance (contemporary, ballet, commercial) and painting, attending seminars by well-known artists. She was a member of YouSmile and thanks to her school she has been involved in voluntary projects such as mediation, violence against women, child abuse, refugees (Schools for All), and Solidarity Now for inequality in education.

Eduardo Vasconcelos is co-founder and CEO of Young Peacebuilders, Brazil's leading nonprofit for preventing school violence through a mental health, conflict resolution, and leadership training curriculum. He is a senior at Harvard University studying Government and Economics. Originally from Brazil, Eduardo is a Forbes 30 Under 30 and a full scholarship recipient at Harvard. He has served as co-president of two student organizations, the Harvard Association Cultivating Inter-American Democracy and the Brazil Conference. Eduardo has hosted youth summits on democracy and sustainable development for over a thousand students from twelve Latin American countries. Eduardo has worked at the World Bank, Brazil's Congress, and the Association to Benefit Children in East Harlem. Upon leaving high school, Eduardo co-founded the National Association for Debate in Brazil, reaching its fifth annual summit in 2025. He is a recipient of the Davis Projects for Peace award and the Harvard Dean’s prize for best oratorical skills in his class.

Eduardo is the Director of Youth Engagement at SNF Global Center - CMI.

Avit Ndayiziga is the Editor in Chief of Community Voice, a French- and English-language community-based media outlet in Burundi that investigates and publishes stories on underreported topics. He was selected from a pool of 250 applicants as the inaugural Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center Communicator Fellow, in partnership with the Carter Center's Climate Change Mental Health Fellowship, where he will focus on reporting about the intersection of climate change and child and adolescent mental health. Through his fellowship, Ndayiziga will work to raise awareness about the mental health impacts of climate change on young people in Burundi, where 47% of the population is under 18 years old.

Dr. Syed Usman Hamdani is an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Global Mental Health and the Founding Director of the Global Institute of Human Development (GIHD) at Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University in Islamabad, Pakistan. With extensive experience in mental health research and policy, he has advised organizations including the World Bank, WHO, and UNICEF. He has led multiple collaborative research projects on making evidence-based mental health services accessible in low-resource settings. As a member of the inaugural cohort of Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center Research Fellow, Dr. Hamdani is currently working on a project to scale up training for non-specialist school counselors using low-cost technology and implementing the WHO's Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) intervention in Pakistani schools.

Dr. Maria Lídia Filipe Chaúque Gouveia is a leading psychiatrist committed to expanding access to quality mental health care in Mozambique. In her work in the Ministry, Dr. Gouveia has shaped national policies, integrated mental health into crisis interventions, and led training programs for psychiatrists and mid-level professionals. She has fostered international partnerships, mentoring dozens of specialists through collaborations with institutions in Portugal and Brazil. Dr. Gouveia holds a medical degree from Eduardo Mondlane University and a PhD in Psychiatry and Medical Psychology from the Federal University of São Paulo. She also studied Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Porto, in Portugal Dr. Gouveia serves as the National Coordinator of SNF Global Center Clinical Fellowships in Mozambique.