Country Coordinators Reports

Training

In Finland, all psychotherapy trainings are carried out by universities that provide degrees in psychology and medicine. The universities can provide the training either solely by themselves or in collaboration with an external training organization (e.g., cognitive-behavioral or psychodynamic training institutes). The universities take in the trainees and give out the degrees.

Entry requirements to psychotherapist training are either a relevant i) graduate degree, typically a master’s degree in psychology or a licentiate degree in medicine; or ii) bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences; or iii) a post-secondary degree in nursing. In all cases, courses in psychology or psychiatry must be included in the degree or taken in addition, before eligibility to apply. Further, applicants must have at least 2 years of work experience in mental health services or a similar profession. If applicants satisfy these basic criteria, they can apply to psychotherapist training. They are then also typically interviewed and evaluated by the respective external training organization, e.g., cognitive-behavioral or psychodynamic training institute, when a training is carried out in collaboration with them.

The minimum requirements for a psychotherapist training comprise at least 60 ECTS credits, involving i) theoretical studies, ii) supervised practice, iii) training psychotherapy, iv) thesis, and a v) demonstration of competence. To candidates who have undergone training, the title of “psychotherapist” is granted by the national authorities.

Ongoing research programs

Numerous research programs investigating the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions and psychotherapy are carried out in different parts of the country. While an all-encompassing description is beyond the scope of this listing, a geographically representative overview of programs using different study methods and approaches is aimed at below, in alphabetical order. Further descriptions are welcomed by emailing the country coordinator.

Aarno Laitila and Kirsti Kumpulainen, at University of Eastern Finland have initiated a project on family-centred treatment and systematic feedback in the prevention of social exclusion for children diagnosed with conduct and oppositional defiant disorders. The aims are to look at the outcome of the treatment compared with TAU, the process of treatment, and to develop qualitative research methods with the family therapeutic setting in families with children.

Johannes Lehtonen and colleagues, University of Eastern Finland, have used brain imaging methods to study the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy.

Ari Väänänen, Sanna Selinheimo and colleagues at Finnish Institute of Occupational Health have examined the effectiveness of long-term rehabilitative psychotherapy based on Finnish national registers with ten-year follow-up. They study differences in socioeconomic status in the use of psychotherapy and on workability outcomes and the associations of treatment duration and orientation of the psychotherapy with the outcomes.

Sanna Selinheimo and colleagues, at Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, University of Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä and Helsinki University Hospital, have studied the effectiveness of psychoeducation, CBT and internet-based psychotherapy with individual case formulation in RCT study settings for employees with persistent physical symptoms.

The Helsinki Psychotherapy Study – with current PI: Erkki Heinonen, at Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare – has investigated short- and long-term (psychoanalytic, psychodynamic- and solution-focused) psychotherapies in the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders, with a 10-year follow-up from the start of treatments. Quantitative and qualitative methods have been used to study the patient, therapist, and process determinants of effectiveness, using patient- and therapist-rated questionnaires, clinical interviews, and video recordings.

Anssi Peräkylä, University of Helsinki, with numerous colleagues has used mainly qualitative methods to investigate patient-therapist interaction in different types of psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive and psychodynamic. c): e.g., displays of empathy, challenging interpretations, discussion of dreams. Video- and audio-recorded therapy sessions have been used and studied mainly via conversation analysis, but also via psychophysiological measures.

Erkki Heinonen, at University of Helsinki, has coordinated a nationwide study of how psychotherapist trainees experience their professional development during training, and the factors that facilitate and hinder that development; in collaboration with Finnish universities and the SPR Interest Section on Psychotherapist Training and Development.

Virpi-Liisa Kykyri, Jaakko Seikkula, and colleagues at University of Jyväskylä, have investigated the effect of semi-structured couples therapy interventions. Data has been collected on physiological (heart-rate, skin conductance, breathing, pulse, vocal muscles) and questionnaire measures. All sessions have been video-recorded and analyzed for various contents (e.g., topics, ways of speaking, dialogism, emotional expression, gestures and movements), with mainly qualitative methods.

Jaakko Seikkula and colleagues at University of Jyväskylä have investigated the effectiveness of comprehensive family- and network-centered psychiatric treatment, integrating outpatient and inpatient care – the so-called Open Dialogues treatment. As part of the project, 3-year training in family therapy was provided for all staff members in the mental health services of Western Lapland. Family- and network-centered treatment practices and mobile crisis intervention units were established throughout the health services.

Juha Holma and numerous colleagues at University of Jyväskylä have research intimate partner violence. The focus has been on group and couples therapy for victims and perpetrators of intimate partner violence. Various qualitative methods (narrative, discourse, dialogical, assimilation, and content analysis) have been used.

Raimo Lappalainen and colleagues at University of Jyväskylä have investigated mini-interventions and mobile phone applications for psychological problems and wellness management (e.g., depression, weight problems). Approaches studied involve notably, e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy.

Kirsi Peltonen, Raija-Leena Punamäki, Samuli Kangaslampi and colleagues, at University of Tampere, have studied, e.g., narrative exposure therapy in comparison to treatment-as-usual in treating traumatized children and adolescents.

Hasse Karlsson and colleagues, at the Turku Brain and Mind Center, have investigated the effect of short-term (psychodynamic) psychotherapy vs. pharmacotherapy in the treatment of depression, using methods of systemic and molecular neuroscience and brain imaging.

Andre Sourander, at University of Turku, is carrying out studied of digitally assisted parent training interventions when implemented in primary health. These are aimed at parents with children engaging in disruptive behavior, which are associated with high lifetime burdens and costs.

Funding opportunities

The major funding organization in Finland is the Academy of Finland, with calls each year. Researchers in all fields of scientific inquiry can apply, including psychotherapy researchers. In addition, researchers and research groups can seek larger and smaller grants from numerous other foundations and funders, most of which are visible with their deadlines at Aurora-database < ahref="https://www.aurora-tietokanta.fi/en/">https://www.aurora-tietokanta.fi/en/.

Additional

A major reorganization of social and health services is currently underway in Finland. This is likely to affect the provision of psychosocial and psychotherapeutic services in both public and private sector. Currently, many clients are provided psychotherapy by private practitioners who are partly subsidized by the state. However, there is also a recognized need to increase the availability of psychosocial and psychotherapeutic services in public healthcare.