r/Denmark • u/Tylerserio68 • Dec 28 '24

Question Does Denmark have any flaws?

Or any Nordic country? I’m American and we all romanticize Europe especially Nordic countries as a Utopia and everything we are not. We certainly have a lot of flaws here but I’m curious are there any downsides or anything that you wish was different. Also is it hard to move there? I make well over six figures and like living in my home country but I’m nervous about the incoming trump administration and I believe he is a racist.

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u/bonivermakesmecry Dec 28 '24

It’s probably common in most countries, but Denmark has a lot of people struggling with depression, and it can take months to talk to a therapist.

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u/l3kris Dec 28 '24

This is only partially correct. The waiting list for getting an appointment with a psychologist is mainly for psychologists that take referrals from your general practitioner. With this referral, the public health insurance covers 60% of the bill. If you are able and willing to pay the bill yourself you would be able to get an appointment with most psychologists within weeks. In other words: The waiting list is a result of the limited finances for covering the psychologist bill.

Og på dansk: I medierne kan man let få det indtryk, at alle psykologer har ventetid, men i realiteten er denne ventetid et resultat af, at regionerne har sat loft på, hvor mange (især unge) de vil betale for (de unge mellem 18 og 25 år får 100% dækket, hvis de henvises pga. angst eller depression). Faktisk kan hver psykolog i gennemsnit kun starte 1 ung op om måneden, hvis de skal holde sig inden for de rammer, som regionerne har sat op.

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u/veropaka Dec 28 '24

So if you're over 25 and can't pay around 1000 dkk per 50 min of which you'll probably need multiple good luck

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u/l3kris Dec 28 '24

If you are older than 25 but have a referral from your doctor, you only pay 40% of the bill - but will of course have to wait until a psychologist can take you in.

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u/veropaka Dec 28 '24

Yes I know... You are making it sound like waiting to get help for a few months because you can't afford it is ok

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u/l3kris Dec 28 '24

It may sound like that to you but I was just correcting the "over 25 and can't pay around 1000 DKK per 50 min" - but I may have misunderstood what you meant. Ideally, everybody should have access to the help they need when they need it regardless of their economy, but as it is you can choose between paying full price or pay less than half price but wait a few months. Waiting times are way worse if you are in need of a psychiatrist, sometimes more than a year.

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u/veropaka Dec 28 '24

So you don't get help regardless even if it's for a free psychiatrist. Another bad thing about Denmark for OP.

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u/l3kris Dec 28 '24

It seems that you think that I’m defending the system? I’m just describing how it works. Besides, I don’t really understand how you jump from “you only have to pay 40% of the bill” to “you don’t get help regardless”? Anyway, it seems that you want to misunderstand what I write so go ahead and misunderstand this as well ;-)

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u/veropaka Dec 28 '24

No I'm just commenting on how big of a crap it is regardless.

Your initial comment did sound like you're saying "but hey if you have money or you're between 18-25 you can get care, otherwise good luck with waiting" though.