Danish National Corps of Mentors and Parent Coaches

The National Corps of Mentors and Parent Coaches was set up and managed by the Danish Centre for Prevention of Extremism and its partners, i.e. private companies which assist in delivering training, evaluation, etc. 

However, local governments and their staff, who have committed their time and efforts to the corps, are the most essential component. They are responsible for initiating mentor- and parent-coaching efforts directly with citizens, and they do so on a legal and financial basis which regulates local governments and social work in a broader sense.

Type of Organisation: Other

The Danish national corps of mentors and parent coaches works with those in or affiliated to extremist groups, or at risk of radicalisation, and with their families or next of kin. 

The aim is to support at-risk individuals by focusing on resilience and life skills, so that they can avoid or disengage from extremist-related problematic behaviour. Some 160 professionals from 27 municipalities across Denmark have received training in the programme method, Solution- Focused Work on Life Skills. 

In brief, this programme method is founded on three approaches. 

• Life psychology is used to help understand the individual's situation, both personally and socially; a range of risk and protective factors are covered, too. For instance, 'the wheel of competence' may be used here. 
• The Solution-Focused Approach is the communicative and relationship-building strategy used by the mentor/coach in relation to the person or family in question. 
• The Analysis, Planning and Progression Tool is inspired by Signs of Safety®, and serves as the overall tool for assessing resilience, concerns, resources, progress, etc. 

In order to secure a continued qualified corps of mentors and parent coaches, new members were recruited and trained in 2019, and more are expected to join the corps in 2020.

Practitioners will be trained to work with Solution-Focused Work on Life Skills in relation to individuals with social and/or mental vulnerabilities. Members of the corps also participate in networking activities and specialised training, e.g. on different types of extremist ideologies and groups, or on practicing the method. 

All participating local governments have agreed to supply mentors or parent coaches to other local governments where needed and where practicable.

Manual

A methodology manual has been developed, and is published in both Danish and English; programme training and practice are continually based on this manual. The English version is available online.

IT-platform:

Mentors and parent coaches use an IT platform containing four tools and two pre- and post-assessment tools to support mentoring and application of the method. It is a closed site, developed for this purpose. As with the manual, the website was revised in 2019. The new version is up and running.

Contact person: Ann-Sophie Hemmingsen or Mikkel Hjelt
Telephone: (+45) 72142859 / (+45) 72142240 / (+45) 72142000
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