When Gert Martin Hald and his team at the University of Copenhagen set out to help Danish children navigate one of life's most destabilizing moments, they turned to something counterintuitive: a screen. Not to escape the pain of divorce, but to meet it head-on with practical, age-appropriate tools that children could work through at their own pace.
The result is SES NXT, a digital platform now being used across 21 Danish municipalities and spreading to Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Finland. What makes it remarkable is not just that it exists, but that it works—and works with unusual power.
The evidence comes from a rigorous study published in npj Digital Medicine and the Journal of Family Psychology. Researchers followed 866 children and young people aged 3 to 17, randomly assigning them to either access the platform immediately or serve as a control group. After 12 weeks, the results were striking: children using SES NXT reported significantly fewer emotional problems like sadness and worry, fewer behavioral difficulties, better social relationships, improved concentration, and more prosocial behavior. Almost half of the children using the platform moved from poor well-being to normal levels—compared to just one in ten in the control group. In psychological intervention research, these are unusually strong results.
The platform itself reflects years of collaboration between University of Copenhagen researchers, social workers, psychologists, and the families they serve. Rather than offering vague reassurance, SES NXT provides concrete modules tailored to a child's age, covering topics like coping when parents argue, understanding emotions, navigating blended families, and managing life in two homes. Children watch videos and hear from other children who have walked the same path. They learn, in practical terms, what to say and do when conflict erupts. For younger children, the platform actively involves parents, strengthening family communication during a fractured time.
"When parents divorce, it is often the first major negative life event a child experiences," Hald explains. "Some children struggle psychologically or develop school refusal, and many need support to get back on track." The goal is to normalize the emotional chaos—sadness and fear are okay—while offering clear strategies for daily life.
Perhaps equally important, a separate study found that SES NXT also reduces conflict between former partners. This matters profoundly. Parental conflict, Hald notes, is "the single most important factor in whether families go on to thrive." A tool that eases both children's distress and the tension between parents addresses the core fracture that threatens family resilience.
In Næstved Municipality, where SES NXT is used in both group sessions and individual support, staff describe it as "a highly useful tool." The platform is already embedded in municipal services across Denmark, and its adoption in four additional Nordic countries suggests that the problem it solves—how to support children through one of life's hardest transitions—transcends borders.
More broadly, SES NXT represents a shift in how we think about digital tools in mental health: not as replacements for human connection, but as companions to it. A child working through the modules still benefits from parents, counselors, and peers—but now has a structured, judgment-free space to process what feels overwhelming. In that space, thousands of Danish children are finding their footing again.