Psychopharmacological treatment is an important component of the multimodal intervention approach to treating mental health conditions in children and adolescents. Currently, there are many unmet needs but also opportunities, alongside possible risks to consider, regarding the pharmacological treatment of mental health conditions in children and adolescents. In this Position Paper, we highlight and address these unmet needs and opportunities, including the perspectives of clinicians and researchers from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology-Child and Adolescent Network, alongside those of experts by lived experience from national and international associations, via a survey involving 644 participants from 13 countries, and of regulators, through representation from the European Medicines Agency. We present and discuss the evidence base for medications currently used for mental disorders in children and adolescents, medications in the pipeline, opportunities in the development of novel medications, crucial priorities for the conduct of future clinical studies, challenges and opportunities in terms of the regulatory and legislative framework, and innovations in the way research is conducted, reported, and promoted., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests SCo declares honoraria and reimbursement for travel and accommodation expenses for lectures from the following non-profit associations: Association for Child and Adolescent Central Health, Canadian ADHD Alliance Resource, British Association of Pharmacology (BAP), honorarium from Medice, and grants from NIHR, European Research Executive Agency, and Solent NHS Trust. DPO declares honoraria from Medice; and support for attending meetings or travel form Medice, Boehringer Ingelsheim, and HAC pharma. CA declares grants from Stanley Foundation, Brystol-Myers Squibb, Caja Navarra, Comunidad de Madrid, Fundación Alicia Kplopwitz, Fundación Familia Alonso, Foundacion Mutua Madrileña, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, NARSAD, and Ministerio Educacion; consulting fees from Acadia, AMGEN, Angelini, Astra Zeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Fundación Alicia Koplowitz, Gedeon Richter, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Janssen-Cilag, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Roche, Sage, Schering Plough, Shire, Ministerio Educación, Stanley Foundation, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Sunovion, Takeda, and Teva; and honoraria from AMGEN, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers, Squibb, Exeltis, Janssen-Cilag Lundbeck, Otsuka, Sanofi, Takeda, Roche, Sumitomo, and Dainippon Pharma. IB reports honoraria, participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board, and payment for expert testimony from Angelini; and support for attending meetings from Angelini and Lundbeck. TB reports royalties from Hogrefe, Kohlhammer, CIP Medie, and Oxford University Press; honoraria from Janssen Cilag, Medice, and Takeda; participation on data safety monitoring for eye level, Infectopharm, Medice, Neurim Pharmaceuticals, Oberberg, GmbH, and Takeda. JKB reports consulting fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim and Servier; honoraria from Takeda and Medice; and participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Angelini. DCoghill reports grants from National Health and Medical Research Council (Institution), and Medical Research and Futures Fund (Institution); royalties from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press; honoraria from Takeda, Medice, Servier, and Novartis; support for attending meetings from European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; and unpaid leadership roles for Director of Australian ADHD Professionals Association and Director of European Network for Hyperkinetic Disorders. DCohen reports support from Agence Régionale de Santé d'Ile de France; grants from Janssen; honoraria form Otsuka; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Lundbeck; and stocks with School Rebounds. CUC reports grants from Janssen and Teva; royalties from UpToDate; consulting fees from AbbVie, Acadia, Alkermes, Allergan, Angelini, Aristo, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Cardio Diagnostics, Cerevel, CNX Therapeutics, Compass Pathways, Darnitsa, Gedeon Richter, Hikma, Holmusk, IntraCellular Therapies, Janssen/J&J, Karuna, LB Pharma, Lundbeck, MedAvanteProPhase, MedInCell, Merck, Mindpax, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Mylan, Neurocrine, Newron, Noven, Otsuka, Pharmabrain, PPD Biotech, Recordati, Relmada, Reviva, Rovi, Seqirus, SK Life Science, Sunovion, Sun Pharma, Supernus, Takeda, Teva, and Viatris; payment for expert testimony from Janssen and Otsuka; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring for Lundbeck, Relmada, Reviva, Rovi, Supernus, and Teva; stock options from Cardio Diagnostics, Mindpax, LB Pharma, and Quantic. EG received support for attending meetings from European College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2023, CINP 2023, and World ADHD Congress 2023. PJH reports payment for educational material from Takeda. MP reports support from Janssen Cilag, Servier, Roche, Exeltis, Otsuka, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spanish Ministry of Health, now Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness), Horizon2020, EMA, CIBERSAM, Fundación Alicia Koplowitz, and Fundación Mutua Madrileña. PS reports grants from Anavex Life Sciences Corp, NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme, MRC Clinical Academic Research Partnerships, NIHR HTA, NIHR EME, NIHR PGfAR, British Heart Foundation, Reverse Rett, Newron Pharmaceuticals, HealthTracker, and Anavex Scientific Corporation; royalties from HealthTracker; consulting fees from Anavex Scientific Corporation; honoraria from Egyptian Psychiatry Association; and stocks from HealthTracker. AS reports the following leadership roles: President ISRCAP; Chief Scientific Officer Mazi Gia to Paidi; Scientific Advisory Board MRC Adolescent Brain Development; and royalties from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. BV reports grants from CRT Foundation, Italian Ministry of Research and Fondazione Italina Autismo; consulting fees from Medice and Ethos-Angelini; honoraria from Angelini and Menarini; support for attending meetings from Medice; participation in data safety monitoring from NIH and Alkermes. SW reports grants from EU H2022, Swiss National Foundation, WASAD Congress 2023, Heuberg Foundation, University Medical Center Groningen, Uniscientia Foundation, Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, UZH Foundation and Erika Schwarz Foundation, Ebnet Foundation: Oxford Brain @McGill – ZNZ Partnership in the Neurosciences, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Gertrud Thalmann Fonds of UPK Basel, Swiss National Foundation, Federal institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Olga Mayenfisch Foundation; royalties from Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, Hogrefe Publishing Group, Kohlhammer Publishing, Springer Berlin, Beltz publishing group; honoraria from Education Weiterbildungsverein Deutschschweizer Kliniken; Takeda Pharmaceuticals International leadership roles: President of the IPKJ Psychotherapy Institute, Board Member Schweizerischer Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Chair of ICOCS, Board Member ZNZ, SGZ. ICKW reports grants from Amgen, Janssen, GSK, Novartis, Pfizer, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Takeda, along with funding from the Hong Kong RGC and the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund in Hong Kong, National Institute for Health Research in England, European Commission, National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, and The European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development, and demonstration. Consulting fees from IQVIA and WHO, payment for expert testimony from Court in Hong Kong; leadership roles: Member of Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Member of the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunization, and Member of the Advisory Panel on COVID-19 Vaccines of the Hong Kong Government. SCa reports leadership roles: Secretary of the Psychiatric section of SINPIA and Participation as investigator in sponsored clinical trials by Lundbeck, Otsuka, Janssen, Angelini, and Acadia. MB reports honoraria from Medice, Takeda, Martinsclub Bremen e.V., Das frühgeborene Kind e.V., APK e.V., Dreiländerinstitut, Senatsverwaltung Berlin, Lehrerakademie Dillingen, and leadership roles: ADHS Deutschland e.V. and Gamian Europe. NH reports leadership roles: ADHD Europe. KG reports grants from Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Institute of Translation and Interpreting; support to attend meetings from European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; and participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Janssen and Boehringer Ingelheim. CM reports consulting fees from Janssen, Angelini, and Compass; honoraria from Angelini, Neuraxpharm, Lundbeck, Esteve, Pfizer, Sunovion, and British Association of Psychopharmacology; support for attending meetings or travel from Exeltis, Janssen, and BAP, participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Otsuka, Servier, and Nuvelution. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)