Region Midtjylland invests in internet-based treatment - with a regional licence to build more programmes

Region Midtjylland in Denmark is investing broadly in internet-based treatment - digital psychological treatment that citizens can access from home, with written and video-based contact with a psychologist throughout the pathway. The region has a regional licence with the Youwell platform, which makes it possible to build more programmes as needs arise.

The challenge

Many citizens with anxiety, functional disorders, and other mental health challenges wait a long time for specialist treatment, and for children and young people there is often limited access to structured, low-threshold services while they wait. At the same time, parents of children referred to child and adolescent psychiatry need their own support in an often demanding everyday life - something that's rarely an integrated part of the child's treatment offering.

How Youwell addressed the challenge

On the Youwell platform, Aarhus University Hospital, on behalf of Region Midtjylland, is building several digital treatment pathways. A pathway for children and young people (12-17 years) with mild to moderate OCD symptoms is designed to provide support while waiting for specialist treatment and reduce symptom deterioration, built on principles from Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) - with a dedicated support programme for parents as an integrated part. Hånd i hånd (Hand in Hand) is a four-week pathway with knowledge, exercises, and videos for parents of children and young people referred to child and adolescent psychiatry, also based on CFT, designed to reduce stress, burnout, guilt, and shame in parents. In addition, MaveMod is under development for children and young people with functional abdominal disorders. All content is co-created with the users themselves, through workshops and interviews with young people and parents.

Results customers experience

• A regional licence with the Youwell platform gives Region Midtjylland the ability to build more programmes as needs arise
• Several programmes under development in parallel - OCD in children and young people, Hånd i hånd for parents, and MaveMod for functional abdominal disorders
• All content is co-created with the target group themselves, through workshops and interviews
• Anchored as research projects at Aarhus University Hospital, with dedicated research leads for each programme