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Objective This rapid review aims to understand whether a standardised approach to developing quality standards and indicators for mental health has been used across the WHO European Region and beyond to inform methods to develop quality standards for child and adolescent mental health services.Introduction Improving the quality of child and adolescent mental healthcare across the WHO European Region is a priority. Despite advances in quality of care for mental health, many challenges remain, including the lack of a standardised approach to quality improvement.Inclusion criteria Papers that outline methods used to develop quality standards or indicators for mental healthcare, published since the year 2000 in English and for use in the WHO European Region, Australia, Canada or the USA, were included.Methods Methods were based on guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute and WHO. Searches were conducted across PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo and Google Scholar from 16 January to 30 January 2024. The titles/abstracts and full-text articles were screened by two reviewers independently, and the inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied. A template based on five steps proposed to develop health indicators was used to extract relevant data by one reviewer and verified by another.Results 21 studies were included in the review. All papers originated from high-income countries, with dominance from the USA, Canada and the UK. Most papers described four or five of the five proposed steps; however, there was variation in the extent to which these steps were described and how they were implemented.Discussion The results suggest that no consistent approach has been used to develop quality standards/indicators for mental healthcare. There is a need for more participation from people with lived experience and for more research across a wider geographic area.PRSOPERO registration number CRD42024496509.