Folk high schools (Grundtvig)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · N. F. S. Grundtvig, Christian Flor, Christen Kold · 1844 · Denmark

What it is

A folk high school is not a psychotherapy. lex.dk defines it as a general residential school form for adults that originated in Denmark. From the 1830s Grundtvig (1783-1872; pastor, bishop and poet) argued for popular enlightenment delivered in residential schools for young adults, partly inspired…

Format

• Course structure as the law sets it:
• Courses last at least 4 consecutive days with at least 17 teaching hours; courses of a week or more need at least 5 activity days and 21 weekly teaching hours per student.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status in one line: research is mainly descriptive and qualitative, for example a mixed-methods study of students' experiences that its author says cannot assess longer-term effects (Væhrens 2013) and a qualitative dissertation with 15 former Norwegian students (Erickson 2017); controlled…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• minimising ("it's just party culture"); fear of losing the community. Working: the client is safe and has support.
• informal counselling in corridors; residential closeness blurring roles. Working: clear role boundaries maintained.
• suicidal thinking after an abrupt exit; family conflict. Working: the client can tell the story without collapse into shame.
• perfectionist joining of everything; withdrawal that becomes isolation. Working: the client uses the plan in the first weeks.
• staff taking on a quasi-therapeutic role; the client feeling watched. Working: a clear, limited channel both sides understand.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.