A dialogue tool for families — for use in prevention and early intervention

SAMRUM is a dialogue tool for families at the low end of the preventive continuum — before PPR, AKT or a formal concern conversation. It gives the family shared language for their everyday patterns, so conversations with professionals start from a concrete place. It is free for the family and replaces no municipal framework.

SAMRUM gives families a shared language about their dynamics. Safe, digital and without anyone seeing each other's answers.

Discuss pilot or use case

Where can it be used?

Prevention

A health visitor, family advisor or case worker recommends SAMRUM to a family where something is off — without requiring referral or waiting time. The family uses it at home, at their own pace.

Waitlist support

Families waiting for a spot with family services get SAMRUM as something to work with in the meantime. The report can be brought to the first meeting with the professional.

Early intervention

Wellbeing conversations, parent networks, family events. SAMRUM as a supplement that gives the family a shared language — not a replacement for professional support.

What is SAMRUM?

Test

Each family member takes an age-adapted test — adults, teenagers and children. Answers are private: no one can see each other's.

Report

AI-supported reports describe patterns in the relationship in everyday language. Not clinical, not judgemental — but precise.

Action

Focus tracks with concrete everyday tools, based on the patterns the test found. 4 weeks, at the family's own pace.

Right now

Free moment guide after a conflict. 90 seconds — and the family has a plan based on both people's profiles.

Last updated Written and reviewed by Thomas Silkjær, founder of SAMRUM

Where does SAMRUM fit in the preventive continuum?

SAMRUM sits at the low end of the intervention ladder — before PPR, AKT conversations and formal concern interviews. It's a self-help tool the family uses at home, not a municipal intervention. If a family's situation calls for formal intervention, that path remains the right one. The tool can, however, give the family language before or between formal conversations.

  • Sits before formal municipal intervention, not as a replacement
  • Self-help tool the family uses at home at their own pace
  • Can give shared language before or between professional work
  • The report can be brought as a starting point to a first municipal conversation
  • Never triggers a notification or municipal flag

See how it works in practice →

Is SAMRUM a measurement or a conversation tool?

A conversation tool. SAMRUM performs no wellbeing measurement, no screening and no municipal data extraction. What the family gets is a personality profile and reports describing relationship patterns in everyday language. There are no scores being flagged, no risk categories identified, and no systematic material the municipality can use for case processing.

  • No wellbeing measurement or screening
  • No data extraction for municipal case processing
  • Reports describe patterns in everyday language, not risk scores
  • Built on personality research, not clinical instruments
  • The family owns all data — the municipality receives nothing automatically

Methodology →

Can a municipality buy SAMRUM for its citizens?

The municipality doesn't need to buy anything to refer. The test and personal profile are free; the family pays for any reports themselves. That means a municipality can refer freely — without a budget line, tender or licence. For larger partnerships (a pilot, municipal partnership, or distribution through a family department) a framework can be agreed directly — use the contact form at the bottom of this page.

  • The test and profile are free — no municipal cost
  • The family pays for any reports themselves; no commission to anyone
  • No licence, tender or integration required to refer
  • Pilots and partnerships can be agreed directly
  • Use the contact form below for municipal collaborations

Pricing and packages →

How do privacy and municipal access work?

The municipality has no automatic access to anything. Profiles and reports belong to the family alone. If the family wishes, they can actively share a report with a professional via the platform — but sharing is optional, can be withdrawn, and is logged nowhere in municipal systems. SAMRUM is GDPR-compliant and hosted in the EU.

  • No automatic access for the municipality, schools or PPR
  • Nothing is logged in municipal systems or case files
  • Sharing always happens on the family's initiative, never automatic
  • Sharing can be withdrawn at any time by the family
  • GDPR-compliant, data hosted in the EU, deletable on request

Privacy →

Does SAMRUM replace a formal concern interview?

No. A formal concern interview is a municipal intervention with its own purpose — SAMRUM is a self-help tool for the family. The two operate differently and carry different weight. In some cases SAMRUM can give a family language that makes a subsequent formal conversation easier. In other cases SAMRUM stands alone, well before a formal conversation becomes relevant.

  • SAMRUM does not replace concern interviews, notifications or intake
  • Can give a family language before a formal conversation becomes relevant
  • Can serve as a starting point in such a conversation, if the family wishes
  • Signals requiring formal intervention must still be followed up
  • Two different tools with different purposes — not in competition

For practitioners →

The gap no one talks about

  • •Many families have something that gnaws — but not enough to call anyone. They fall between two chairs: good advice they already know, and a therapist they're not ready for.
  • •Families waiting for a spot with family services or school counselling rarely have anything to work with in the meantime. The waiting is passive.
  • •Frontline staff can see that something is off. But they don't have a concrete tool to send the family home with — beyond 'try talking about it'.

What does it require?

No staff time

The family uses SAMRUM at home by themselves. The professional who recommends it doesn't need to facilitate or follow up.

No referral

SAMRUM doesn't require a referral, approval or waiting time. Anyone can use it immediately.

No cost to the organisation

Families pay for reports themselves. The test and personality profile are free. A recommendation costs the organisation nothing.

Safety and privacy

  • All answers are private — no one in the family can see each other's responses. People answer most honestly when no one is watching.
  • SAMRUM does not diagnose and does not replace professional assessment. Reports describe patterns in everyday language.
  • All data is stored in the EU. GDPR compliant. Users can delete their data at any time.

Immediate help between sessions — "Right now"

Reports and focus tracks work with patterns over time. But conflicts don't wait. "Right now" is a free moment guide the family can open right after an argument — 90 seconds and 4-5 questions, and they have a personal plan based on both people's profiles.

Pattern recognition in the moment

The guide uses test data from both people to identify the pattern the family is in. Described as a cycle, not blame.

A plan for the next few hours

Concrete actions, things to avoid, and a minimal 10-second version for those who don't have the energy for more.

Free and without a professional

The family uses it themselves, when they need it. No staff time, no referral. Just an open door when the pulse is racing.

Requires completed test for both people. Not therapy — a structured self-help guide.

Youth wellbeing starts in the family

Research from the ROCKWOOL Foundation shows that the family is the most important arena for young people's wellbeing. Not holidays and experiences — but predictability, contact and the feeling of being met. Based on survey data from 6,800 Danish 15–19-year-olds, they point to a strong link between youth wellbeing and needs fulfilment in the family.

  • •A pilot study (2024) shows that much of young people's distress is transient — it comes and goes. The difference between a bad period and a pattern is crucial, but hard to see from the inside.
  • •Stable family relationships are protective. Not perfect relationships — but relationships where conflicts aren't permanent, and where the young person feels heard.
  • •SAMRUM gives the family a concrete tool to put words to the patterns that affect everyday life. Not a diagnosis — but a shared language that both young people and adults can use.
Read: A good life in the family matters mostRead: Bad weeks are not always a sign

Frequently asked questions

SAMRUM is a digital dialogue tool for families. Each family member takes an age-adapted test on their phone or computer — there are versions for adults, teenagers (13+) and children (approx. 6–12 with a parent guide). Answers are private, and based on them, AI-supported reports are generated that describe patterns in the relationship in everyday language. The family can then start a focus track: a 4-week programme with concrete everyday tools, tailored to the patterns the test found. And when a conflict happens in the moment, the family can open "Right now" — a free moment guide that in 90 seconds gives a plan based on both people's profiles. Read more about how it works.

Couples, parent-child, siblings and whole families — including blended families. It's not a crisis tool and not a clinical instrument. It's designed for families that have something that gnaws, but who don't necessarily need (or are ready for) therapy. It can also be a supplement for families already in contact with a professional.

No — and that's by design. SAMRUM is a self-help tool and a stepping stone, not a replacement for professional help. For families in treatment, it can be a supplement that provides structure between sessions. For families not ready for therapy, it can be a beginning — a way to put words to something that would otherwise remain unsaid. And for professionals, the report can serve as a starting point for the first conversation. See for practitioners for more about the collaboration.

The test and personal profile are free for everyone. Relationship reports (e.g. parent–teenager, couple) cost a one-time fee that the family pays themselves. There's no subscription, no hidden costs, and no expense for the municipality, school or organisation. A recommendation from a professional costs nothing. See pricing for details.

SAMRUM is designed for low-threshold use and normalising language. No answers are shared between family members — this is a deliberate design decision, because people answer most honestly when no one is watching. Reports are descriptive, not alarming, and point to patterns — not faults. For families in acute crisis, however, SAMRUM is not the right tool. It cannot handle acute safety situations and is not designed to.

No. All answers, profiles and reports are private and belong to the family. The municipality, school and organisation have no access — neither to answers, results nor usage data. If the family chooses to share a report with a professional, that is the family's own active choice, and it can be revoked.

SAMRUM doesn't require new staff, new systems or IT integration. It's a standalone tool that a health visitor, family advisor or case worker can recommend in a conversation — just like recommending a book or an exercise. The family uses it at home. The report can subsequently be used as a starting point in a follow-up conversation, if the family chooses.

SAMRUM's test is built on Big Five (Costa & McCrae, 1992) for personality traits and the Interpersonal Circumplex (Wiggins, 1979) for relational behaviour. Questions are based on IPIP — an open, validated item bank (Goldberg et al., 2006). Patterns in reports are grounded in Gottman's couples research (1994, 2015), attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969; Johnson, 2008), and systemic family therapy (Bateson, 1972; Minuchin, 1974). Children are never described with personality traits but in situations (Piaget, Vygotsky), and teenagers have their own principles based on adolescence research (Steinberg, 2001, 2014). SAMRUM is not a clinical instrument and does not diagnose — it's a reflection and dialogue tool with an academic foundation of 15+ key references. Read more about the methodology behind SAMRUM.

Related pages

For practitioners

Are you a therapist, psychologist or counsellor? Join SAMRUM's practitioner network and receive reports from families.

Learn more about the practitioner network

For teachers

Free teaching course on self-reflection and wellbeing for years 7–9. Ready-made package with guide, slides and parent letter.

See the teacher package

The foundation, the privacy, the people behind:

Methodology

Research, the 10 axes, what we don't use

Privacy

What is stored, shared, deleted

About SAMRUM

The story, the voice, the person behind

Want to discuss a pilot, collaboration or use case?

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