Young Danes seek psychological help increasingly frequently

Number of Danes aged 18 to 37 seeking psychological treatment for depression increased four times in 2010 compared to 2009, Danish newspaper “Berlingske” writes.

The new system gives general practitioners a chance to prescribe psychological treatment to their 18-37-year-old patients having mild or medium degree of depression; which they use a lot. In one year the number of patients grew from 5 266 people to 21 799 people. The Chairman of the Danish Psychological Association (Dansk Psykolog Forening) is happy with the figures.
 
“On average patients see a psychologist for 11 sessions. The result is extremely positive. The patients show improvements; they get back to work and their families. According to the 2007 results, 60 percent of patients make a full recovery”, Roal Ulrichsen says to “Berlingske”.

“This system is good, as well as reasonable price-wise, for it helps society save the earned money. It is also known that the patients who got both pharmaceutical and psychological treatment see a psychologist for the second time much more seldom than those who were treated only pharmaceutically”, he adds.

The new system is financed with federal and regional funds. In 2010 it cost 80 million Danish kroner which is twice as much as it states in the approved federal budget. That is why the rest of the money needed was paid by regions.

Number of longstanding illnesses has reduced. But as it appears, there were also patients directed to psychologists by mistake.

The new system is aimed at people aged 18 to 37 who have mild or medium degree of depression. Those having it more severe should get treatment in hospital. Nevertheless, 28 percent of those directed to a psychologist were found to have severe depression; while 39 percent of the patients did not have any symptoms of depression at all.

 

 
Source: Politiken