Child and adolescent psychiatrist

Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Center.

Capital Region Denmark. B205

Nordstjernevej 21.

2600 Glostrup, Denmark

 

"I’ve been attending the ESCAP congresses for several years and always been interested in its organization. It is a pleasure that I can now become more involved in ESCAP and future congresses.

Child and Adolescent psychiatry is a very important medical specialty. I believe that it's necessary to improve the validity of our diagnosis, we need to give evidence-based treatment, and we need to develop further the theories of developmental psychopathology. I’d like to contribute to discussions on these topics within the ESCAP board.

Denmark is a privileged country due to our welfare and public healthcare system, but social differences can still mean variations in referral to care. We have seen a rising number of referrals, as has most of Europe, and there have been various myths about what is happening; many groups suggest various causes. What I think is happening in Denmark is that we are not always seeing the right child at the right time. Children and adolescents are sometimes referred for the wrong reasons, not being referred at all, or being referred too late. The Danish media often express the view that we over-medicate, which is harmful. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are not only interested in the medical aspect; we strongly believe in psychosocial interventions and psychotherapy.

I am a clinician and have experience in policymaking as well, so I hope to offer my expertise in these ESCAP divisions. Psychotherapy is one of my main areas of expertise. Another topic of interest is how genetics and our environment influence each other during the development of children. Teaching is also a passion of mine. I was for many years the head of the program for postgraduate psychiatric training in child and adolescent psychiatry in Denmark. And although medical students are choosing our specialty postgraduate training it could still be improved".