Journal October 2026 Special DISPUK Release_Full Version - Flipbook - Page 85
84
In this job, I realized that witnessing a context can make you understand why
stories are shaped the way they are. And this can break your heart. It can also
make you want to do something about it.
And so, we did.
We wrote a letter addressed to the politicians of the Danish Parliament, signed by
us and 1,200 fellow psychologists. We could not have foreseen the last part, but it
sure made a difference. The original length of the letter reflected our hope of
making the politicians understand the seriousness and complexity of the
situation, and that it is too severe to be dealt with in catchphrases. I9m sure you9ll
get that, even though I9ve shortened it for you:
August 21, 2022
Dear Members of the Danish Parliament,
Through our work as psychologists in
the Pedagogical Psychological Counseling [in Danish shortened PPR],
we witness at close quarters the growing distress among children and
young people. We observe it when we visit daycare institutions and
schools; we feel it through increasing pressure to refer more and
more children and young people to psychiatric services, in
the pressure to produce assessments regarding needs for support,
and in our meetings with parents struck by frustration and distress.
In particular, we experience it in our encounters with teachers and
pedagogues who feel powerless and discouraged, when we try
to help them shape environments in schools and daycares in which
children and young people can thrive and develop. With this letter,
we wish to express our deepest solidarity with these professional
groups, who fight an unequal battle daily to bring their professional
expertise into play under conditions that stand in stark contrast to
what we know is necessary for children9s development and wellbeing. As firsthand witnesses to everyday life in daycare institutions
How a Letter Can Enlarge the Small 8p9 in 8politics9
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, October 2026 Special Release, p. 83-91
www.journalcnt.com
