This year’s Nordic Headspace Conference, held at the Danish Parliament under the theme “Turn the Tide New Approaches to Youth Mental Health and Early Intervention,” brought together experts, policymakers, and youth advocates from across Europe to explore innovative ways of supporting young people’s mental health.

YOUTHreach was well represented! In the pre-conference workshop “What works for who, and where? Early Intervention Service Models for Youth Mental Health Workshop” YAG-members Sophia Badhan and Isaac Searle played a key part in the discussions. The panel “Mental Health NGOs in Europe,” moderated by Craig Hodges (Director, Orygen Global, Australia) brought together key figures from across the continent: Jannes Vanmelle (Overkop, Belgium), Prof. Andreas Bechdolf (soulspace, Germany), Tom Guldberg (Mental Helse, Norway), Trine Hammershøy (headspace Denmark), Eva Rós Ólafsdóttir (Bergið headspace, Iceland), and Prof. Thérèse van Amelsvoort (@ease, The Netherlands). Together, they discussed the shared challenges and successes of youth-focused mental health NGOs, emphasizing the power of collaboration, co-creation, and low-threshold services.

Dr. Sophie Leijdesdorff (Maastricht University) joined Dr. Lene Falgaard Eplov (Copenhagen Research Unit for Recovery) in the session “Research Highlights: Effectiveness of Early Intervention Models in Youth Mental Health.” Together, they presented new insights on evidence-based early intervention strategies and discussed how such models can be adapted across European contexts to ensure timely, youth-friendly support.

The conference was opened by Maria Durhuus, Member of the Danish Parliament and host of the event, alongside Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Founder of headspace Denmark and former Prime Minister of Denmark. Their contribution underscored the urgency of collective action to ensure that every young person can access mental health support early, without stigma or barriers. The conference marked a vital step toward building stronger European alliances for youth mental health: a shared mission that YOUTHreach continues to advance through collaboration and research.