Authorities in Denmark’s second largest city of Aarhus couldn’t stop an ethnic Somali teenager from joining extremists fighting in Syria two years ago but they appear to have been able to rehabilitate him after he returned.

Jacob Bundsgaard, mayor of Aarhus, said that mentoring and working with the family of the young man — whom he did not otherwise identify — smoothed reintegration into Danish society after the youth returned “physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted” by his experiences. He has even been able to re-enroll in his old high school, the mayor said.

Bundsgaard, speaking to Al-Monitor after attending the Barack Obama administration’s Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in Washington on Feb. 18, conceded that the model used in Aarhus — a city of 330,000 — might not work in larger metropolises and different countries.

In Denmark, Bundsgaard noted, there is “a long tradition of cooperation between local authorities, while in other countries it can be difficult to get two types of police to work together.” But the same psychological factors are involved, he said, and the “signs of alienation young people are sending are the same. You need to organize your efforts in a way that fits local conditions.”