Photos: Luis Ascui
Their Majesties King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark met Orygen Executive Director and headspace Founding Director Patrick McGorry, headspace CEO Jason Trethowan and the wider team at headspace South Melbourne to discuss youth mental health and wellbeing.
The headspace model, the development of which Orygen led in 2007, now supports young people through services in more than 150 communities across Australia, and has been implemented internationally – including Denmark, where Queen Mary is patron.
Established in 2013, headspace Danmark has since expanded to 30 municipalities across the country.
Professor McGorry said it was a privilege to meet the Royal couple and speak about their shared commitment to youth mental health.
“Queen Mary opened the 6th International Youth Mental Health Conference in Copenhagen in 2023 and her ongoing support for this vital and dynamic new field of health care has been tremendously beneficial in promoting the important work of headspace in Denmark and internationally,” Prof. McGorry said.
“The youth mental health crisis is a global one, and the Danish Royal Family’s visit to headspace highlights the international momentum to tackle the number threat to the lives and futures of young people, wherever they live.
“It provided a great opportunity to celebrate our collaboration and discuss our continued work to together provide the foremost, evidence-based mental health services to young people in our communities.”
Young people from headspace reference groups took Queen Mary and King Frederik through the ‘7 tips for a healthy headspace’, while the King also partook in a game of table tennis during the guided tour of the centre.