Shifting landscapes of global child mental health: Imperatives for transdisciplinary approaches

There are a multitude of stakeholders involved in the protection, education, mental health and psychosocial care of children for children in LMIC countries. The article presents how the current medical and public health models for child mental healthcare, do not adequately address the complexities of child protection and mental health. It argues for mental health professionals to: (a) recognise the role of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in mental health morbidity; (b) adopt an alternative approach, namely that of transdisciplinarity, to enable more effective solutions to children’s psychosocial and mental health issues, through systemic reform and transformation. •A resurgence of global health focus on Adverse Childhood Experiences recognises shifting landscapes of child mental health.•Current medical and child public mental health models are inadequate for addressing child risks and vulnerabilities.•Transdisciplinarity enables knowledge construction of children’s lived realities to integrate protection and mental health.•Transdisciplinary approaches, through systemic reform and transformation, are imperative for solutions to child mental health.