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Child and youth mental disorders are commonly occurring and often seriously impairing in many countries across the globe [49]. In 2020, an estimated 166 million children and youth aged 10–19 years were living with a mental disorder worldwide [74], and this figure rose in the following year. A recent meta-analysis of 29 studies involving 80,879 children and youth (0–18 years) globally, found that during the COVID-19 pandemic the rates of clinically elevated depression and anxiety symptoms in this group doubled, reaching a whole-time high of more than 20% in the analyzed group [6],[54]. Emerging evidence suggests that these numbers may be rising at a steeper rate due to recent global issues that have caused an increase in chronic stress experienced by these groups, including climate change and recurring major natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic public health crisis, and political unrests and conflicts …