Mother takes five proposals for youth psychiatry to minister

Lise Dam and five young people have presented proposals to improve psychiatric care for young people to Health Minister Ida Auken, DR reports. Dam hopes the changes will help prevent others from experiencing what happened to her daughter, Sarah Dam Rasmussen.

Sarah died by suicide three years ago, aged 23, during a severe depression. She had spent months trying to get help from psychiatric services. Dam and her daughter had agreed that they would campaign together for better care once Sarah recovered, but she did not get the chance.

Dam took up the campaign herself and presented the proposals at the Danish Parliament on Tuesday, alongside five young people who have had experience with psychiatric services. “She is with us, she is not forgotten, we stand up for her, and she is fighting alongside us,” Dam said. She has previously described her daughter’s treatment in the DR documentary “Who will catch Sarah?”

One problem in Sarah’s care was that she was passed between services. During the final three and a half months of her life, she saw six different psychiatric professionals and received four different diagnoses. Dam says the system needs to be more consistent and coordinated, and that young people need to be listened to more.

The five proposals were developed at a meeting in September organised by Dam. Participants included Sarah’s relatives and friends, young people with experience of psychiatric services, mental health workers and representatives of non-governmental organisations. The Depression Association was among the groups involved in putting forward the proposals.

One recommendation is called “People before diagnosis”. It reflects the view that young people with mental health problems should be able to get help even if they do not have a diagnosis. The government, municipalities and regions presented an emergency plan for child and adolescent psychiatry on September 25, including a measure to reduce the focus on diagnoses.

Auken thanked the group and said she agreed with several of its points. In an email to DR, she said young people should have a strong voice in discussions about the future of psychiatric care. She said the ministry would review the proposals and assess them.

Auken and other parliamentary spokespeople on psychiatric care are now preparing a broader plan, known as Psychiatry Plan 2.0. Dam hopes it will recognise people aged 18 to 30 as a group with particular needs. She says some young people fall between child and adolescent services and adult psychiatry when they reach adulthood.

Dam also wants politicians to listen to young people who have used psychiatric services.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, the article advises telling someone who is not suicidal. You can contact Livslinien anonymously by phone on 70 201 201 or through its website, livslinien.dk.