Danish opposition party proposes specialist clinics to help people stop antidepressants

Alternativet wants Denmark to establish specialist clinics for people who need help tapering off antidepressants and other psychiatric medication.

The proposal emerged from the party’s summer group meeting. Political leader Franciska Rosenkilde said Denmark needed “a far more professional focus” on withdrawal from psychiatric drugs, pointing to the high number of people taking antidepressants and the treatment of children as young as 5 or 6.

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a far more professional focus

Alternativet referred to figures from the Danish Health Data Authority showing that nearly 500,000 people in Denmark received antidepressant prescriptions in 2024. The number of children and teenagers aged 0 to 17 receiving the medication rose from 3,733 in 2020 to 7,123 in 2025.

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We believe it is irresponsible that politicians do not also take responsibility for how we get all these people tapered off medication again.

Rosenkilde said it was irresponsible for politicians not to take responsibility for helping people come off the medication. She questioned whether general practitioners receive adequate training for the process and said psychiatrists have greater specialist expertise. She also noted that withdrawal can be difficult to manage through a regular doctor’s office.

Rosenkilde stressed that medication and psychiatric drugs are “the absolutely right solution in many cases.” But she said other forms of treatment were being pushed aside when people turned directly to psychiatric medication. Alternativet wants the specialist clinics included in negotiations over the 2027 budget and is seeking 200 million kroner for them.

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I am completely sure that medication and psychiatric drugs are the absolutely right solution in many cases.