Helsingborg residents can now use an innovative tool to overcome divorce anxiety

The platform was borrowed from Denmark where it has become a legal requirement

Helsingborg, together with 5 neighbouring municipalities, will be implementing divorce in Danish style. Having already started on Monday this week, the authorities have introduced a novel digital tool for self-reflection for people going through the difficulties of the separation process.

It is called SES (which is an abbreviation for Collaboration Following a Divorce) and is an online platform that was originally developed in Denmark under academic guidance from the Public Health Faculty at the University of Copenhagen. Its use has actually been made compulsory for couples undergoing divorce who also have children under the age of 18.

The 6 municipalities from the Skane region are the first to try it out on Swedish soil and the use of the platform there will be recommended but not obligatory, and also completely anonymous to use.

Divorces are especially stressful for young children

SES is divided into 18 modules, seven of which have already been launched, and the rest will be uploaded by 1 April in Swedish, English and Arabic. Each of these modules consists of sections that have different purposes.

Some of these are educational and showcase studies and examples of children’s reactions to the news of divorce and coping mechanisms. There is the possibility to learn how to talk to your children about divorce.

Other sections are meant as a self-help and a self-reflection tool, which give the user the chance to examine his/her own motivations, feelings and reasoning about going through with the separation.

“Here we offer a tool for increased self-awareness, help for self-help. You can use it both before, during and after a separation, it is simply a support for parents who do not live together, to make life as good as possible for the children,” said Lisbeth Davidsson from the Social Service Department in Helsingborg.