In English
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä and an entrepreneur in psychotherapy and education. I research, practice and teach in the fields of suicide prevention and psychotherapy.
I hold a doctorate in psychology and degrees in integrative individual, couple, and family psychotherapy.
I serve as chairperson of the Finnish Association of Integrative Psychotherapy and a member of the Finnish Psychological Association’s professional section for adult mental health and substance abuse work.
I train professionals in suicide prevention, with a focus on strategies that facilitate forming and maintaining a collaborative alliance with suicidal clients. As I find that professionals’ own experience of sufficient emotional safety is key to allow for engaging constructively with suicidal clients, my trainings focus on promoting perspectives and practices that help professionals gain courage and resilience in this daunting work.
You are welcome to contact me concerning collaborations around these themes.
My doctoral dissertation entitled ”Co-constructing recovery in suicidal crises: Service users’ perspectives on healthcare and crisis services after a suicide attempt” was examined at the University of Jyväskylä on September 14, 2024.
In the dissertation and in its defense, I discuss how movements toward recovery or relapse may be perceived as co-constructed between those in suicidal crises and those responding to these crises in the context of healthcare or crisis services. I argue for acknowledging the agency of the service user as a primary target of and resource for intervention, and for the value of more pluralistic approaches to developing suicide prevention practices.
- The dissertation is available for download here.
- You can watch the defense here.
- I held the popularised summary (”Lectio Praecursoria”) at the beginning of the defense in Finnish (01:30-18:05 on the video), but you can read it in English here.
In Finland, the doctoral defense is a public event. It was my hope that my defense could serve to highlight the participants’ impactful stories and provide resources for those struggling to live or help others through a suicidal crisis. To my delight, over 350 people followed the defense either on-site or online.
I am pictured with the custos, Professor Juha Holma, University of Jyväskylä, and the opponent, Professor Eugenie Georgaca, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
You can find open-access links for these publications below. For a full list of publications, please see my ResearchGate or OrcID profile.
Open-access link for ”How do health care services help and hinder recovery after a suicide attempt? A qualitative analysis of Finnish service user perspectives”.
Open-access link for ”Suicide attempt survivors’ recovery-related agency in the relational context of services: a qualitative analysis”.
Open-access link for ”Client-reported impact of the Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program”.
