Twenty-five years have passed since the major socio-political changes in Central and Eastern Europe and our aim was to map and analyze the development of mental health care practice for people with severe mental illnesses in this region since then. A scoping review was complemented by an expert survey in 24 countries. Mental health care practice in the region differs greatly across as well as within individual countries. National policies often exist but reforms remain mostly in the realm of aspiration. Services are predominantly based in psychiatric hospitals. Decision making on resource allocation is non-transparent, and full economic evaluations of complex interventions and rigorous epidemiological studies are lacking. Stigma seems to be high compared to other European countries, but consideration of human rights and user involvement are increasing. The region has seen respectable development, which occurred due to grassroots initiatives supported by international organizations, rather than due to systematic implementation of government policies.(150 words, unstructured)Funding: This study had no specific funding.
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