Dear Mental Health Professionals,

We are honored to see you at the 24th International Psychological Counseling and Guidance Congress, which will be held in Ankara, the capital of our Republic, on 17-18-19 November 2023, in cooperation with the Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association and Ankara University.

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not the absence of disease or infirmity”. Being mentally and socially healthy is the basic dimension of human life that goes beyond the concept of illness and determines the relationship of the individuals with themselves, their family, environment, work and society.

Mental health is a state of well-being in which all individuals are aware of their own potential, can cope with the ordinary challenges of life, can work productively and efficiently, and contribute to the environment in which they live. Taking protective and preventive measures to ensure and maintain this state of well-being and providing widespread and qualified mental health services that are accessible to everyone, are not a luxury but a necessity for today's societies. Therefore, in the light of human rights and children's rights principles, it is important to determine the basic principles for the protection of the mental health of the society and the individual and to ensure a healthy development in terms of mental health, and to provide the preventive, supportive and remedial services to be provided in this direction with the least restrictive and most appropriate methods.

Our association aims to prevent the occurrence of mental health problems for individuals, groups or systems that have not yet been affected, and to support the healthy mental development and skill acquisition of children, with the onset of conditions that threaten a healthy life. In addition, our association prioritizes protective, preventive and developmental services aimed at strengthening the well-being of individuals by providing them with behaviors, knowledge and attitudes that will increase their well-being.

Based on this priority, considering that inequalities have increased dramatically in the world after Covid-19, the main theme of our Congress this year was determined as Psychological Counseling and Guidance in Accessible Mental Health Services, and the congress slogan is "Mental Health Service is a Necessity, not a Luxury".

Psychological, social, cultural, legislative and structural barriers to accessing mental health services will be discussed through conferences, panels, workshops and various platforms with valuable experts (academics, policy makers, representatives of professional organizations, etc.) who will participate in our congress at both national and international levels. We also aim to disseminate examples of good practice and raise awareness in establishing an environment that will make mental health a priority for all of us.

The abstracts of the papers presented at the congress will be published in the E-Abstract Book and the full texts will be published in the E-Full Textbook. In addition, the full texts of the papers presented in the congress, optionally and after the referee process will be published in the academic journals of our Association: Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, Journal of School Psychological Counseling, Journal of Career Psychological Counseling, Journal of Family Psychological Counseling, Journal of Clinical Mental Health and Psychological Counseling.

We are honored to invite all community mental health stakeholders to this important and prestigious information feast on accessible mental health services in the light of Psychological Counseling and Guidance and to host you in Ankara, our capital city, on the 100th Anniversary of our Republic.