The 7th Catalan Congress of Child and Adolescent Mental Health has been inevitably marked by the COVID-19 pandemic that broke out a few months before the official inauguration planned for the fall of 2020. The thematic focus of the congress, expressed in the multiplicity of its title, was amplified by a global health catastrophe comparable only to wartime situations. Thus, many transitions (vital, migratory) were blocked; exclusions and loneliness increased in an unexpected context of forced isolation; individual and community risks and challenges became countless, and responses more difficult and necessary than ever. The inevitable postponement of the congress until mid-2021 provided an opportunity to take a first assessment of the damage in terms of mental health repercussions and to review the most immediate objectives that were - and are - necessary to address, from a broader temporal perspective.
A Congress in which, starting from our immediate concern for the current situation, matters of great urgency, depth, and complexity were discussed. We hope that this special issue of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology result in a useful working document that helps to materialize your proposals and contributes to debate and reflection, which must accompany action in your inexhaustible search for answers.