I am medical doctor and specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry. I have worked as a consultant in the hospital service for many years, and the experiences from the clinical work with children with psychological problems and their parents show that parents have often had concerns about their child’s development many years before they were referred for treatment. This is the main reason why I am currently researching opportunities for preventing mental disorders early in life.
My research is about the development of mental health problems in childhood and about the interplay between physical and mental health. In the birth cohort Copenhagen Child Cohort, CCC2000, my research group has identified a range of early signs of psychological problems, including regulation problems, development problems and weight problems. We have demonstrated potential for prevention in the first years of life and have proceeded with this in the PUF projects, in which we have developed a programme for early intervention. In Infant Health, we focus on the health nurses’ prevention of mental health problems and overweight.
I have collaborated with health nurses for more than 20 years, in practice and in relation to research. To me, the municipal healthcare in Denmark is the optimal forum for exploring and testing methods for early prevention of mental health problems and overweight in children.