Spotlight Gesundheit – Faculty Lecture No. 10
Prof. Dr. med. Susanne Walitza will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at the University of Lucerne’s Dies Academicus 2026. As part of the «Spotlight Gesundheit: Faculty Lecture» series, she will give a public lecture on the mental health of young people in Switzerland.
| Date: | 2 December 2026 |
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| Time: | 17.00 h to 18.15 h |
| Location: | Lecture Hall 7, Universität Luzern, Frohburgstrasse 3, 6002 Luzern |
The title of the lecture is:
Youth Mental Health in Switzerland – from Research to Prevention and Intervention
Mental health among adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25 has steadily declined over the past two decades. Despite Switzerland outperforming most other OECD countries in terms of mental health, an increase in «mental health emergencies» as well as in stress-related disorders among adolescents and young adults can be observed.
In her lecture, Susanne Walitza will focus on both general preventative strategies and specific approaches for at-risk populations, such as girls and disadvantaged adolescents. She will also highlight new developments in the clinical setting. The studies presented place strong emphasis on identifying coping strategies and resilience, such as the role of family, social connectedness and media usage.
About Prof. Susanne Walitza
Susanne Walitza, MD, MSc in Psychology, is a full professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy. She is Head of Department and Medical & Research Director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Zurich and the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich.
Her current research focus includes clinical presentations and phenotyping, including psychological and neuropsychiatric aspects, as well as the genetics and neuroimaging of developmental disorders in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy, particularly ADHD, OCD, anxiety disorders and tic disorders.
She has lectured and published extensively in medicine, psychology and related fields, and has over 500 publications to her name. Through various leadership roles, she has been actively promoting the visibility of child and adolescent psychiatry and the needs of children and adolescents in our rapidly changing world at a national and international level.
Event information & registration
The lecture will be held in English, is open to the public and free of charge. After the lecture, there will be an opportunity to chat over drinks and snacks.
Please register for the event by 24 November 2026, 12.00 pm.
