Finland’s GA History

It took ten years to start a group analytic training again in Finland. Since September 2021 we have a  group of seven students studying to become group analysts and be legally qualified to work as group psychotherapists in Finland. In 2011 the law changed and psychotherapy trainings became a responsibility of universities. That was a real challenge: the fees payed by students are much higher than before, cognitive psychotherapies have the upper hand and professionals prefer to qualify as individual therapists. Without ”sisu”, a famous Finnish concept for not giving up, group analysis would not have future here, because a profession needs new students, needs next generations to survive. It is therefore time to celebrate and go on with the work of recruiting trainees in order to start a new traininggroup also next year.

The roots of psychoanalytic group therapy in Finland go back to 1970’s. Henrik Carpelan, a psychiatrist, who studied in Switzerland brought Finland Tavistock model. The Finnish Group Pyschotherapy Association was founded in 1972. One of the founding members was Heimo Salminen, a psychiatrist, who later became a founding father of Finnish group analysis. The first groupanalytic seminar ever in Finland was organized in summer 1979. Alice Ricciardi and Tom Hamroque were leading the seminars. These seminars were organized twice a year until 1993.

Heimo Salminen with some others, wanted to change the Bionian-Kleinian training of group pyschotherapists in Finland and he was even given permission to start a training based on group analysis. This training was interrupted and forbidden, though, because it was against the tradition. He started to look for a new home for his vision : group analysis in Finland. The Finnish Mental Health Association became a nurturing home for group analytic trainings. The first basic course started in 1993. During the years 1996 – 2011 about 120 group analytically trained group psychotherapists were trained. The Finns wanted to train by the Finns but every year 2 – 3 seminars were organized as part of the training where group analysts from abroad were lecturing and conducting large groups. Tom Hamroque, Teresa Howard, Gerhard Wilke, Robi Friedman, Göran Ahlin, Jörgen Burgmeister and Heim Weinberg worked with us. Large group processes were a powerful experience always because the Finnish Mental Health Association trained also other therapist: trauma, art, family, crisis – and these large group seminars were made to be part of their training too. Most of them did not come voluntarily but it was one way of making the large group experience happen.

Group Analytic Association in Finland was founded in 2003. Membership at its highest has been about 80 members but now there are about 15- 20 active members who work on behalf of group analysis. The long brake without new trainings and new generations has taken its toll! Our association has been invaluable in the work with Helsinki University to recruit students so that a training could start. There have been hundreds of applicants for individual courses but it took years of hard work to get seven trainees so that now we have a new generation studying group analysis. Our Association has some traditions: there is a Friday evening group eight times a year, two seminars are organised yearly, a paper is published twice a year. We are active members in EFFP The Finnish Branch and work through the EFFP in order to make sure that it is possible to get psychotherapy also compensated by our government funds. It is a basic right of a citizen to get professional psychotherapy in an affordable way. There is in Finland a system in which you can get treatment either from public or private sector. But even if you use private sector you are compensated so that you don’t have to pay all yourself.

Group analysts work in different fields : some are psychotherapist in public or private sectors, some are supervisors or organization consultants, some work in different non-profit organizations funded by our government partly. I want to mention one remarkable project of applying group analysis: non-profit organization called The Helsinki-Missio is a home for a service for lonely senior citizens. It was started 20 years ago by some of the first Finnish group analysts. They organize a group analytically applied training for group conductors. Trained professionals then run group analytically oriented groups for lonely seniors. This project has been succesful: these groups have been organized in 50 different towns and about 1000 seniors have joined. Loneliness is a problem for older people in Finland. Pandemia will make this kind of work even more important.

At last a few words about international relations. Because we were trained by Finns, without any connection to London – and because we are somewhat shy  – we value books in English from group analytic professionals! May be we have developed our own version of group analysis here. Some of us have joined GASi and take part in the seminars and the Conference. The Nordic Group Psychotherapy Conference was organized once in Helsinki. Our language is so different that among our Nordic colleagues even, we need English to find our voice. We are very happy that this new training I have been talking about in this text, brings two Nordic group analysts , Gerda Winther from Denmark and Steinar Lorenzen from Norway, to work with us.

Group Analysis in Finland has a trauma in its roots – our founding fathers and mothers separated themselves from their original Group Psychotherapeutic community because they had come to an understanding that bringing group analysis to Finland was worth it. Nowadays these two organizations work together when we organize seminars every now and then and invite foreign visitors to work with us.

Aila Kauranen
ailakauranen@gmail.com

Taru Kaivola
taru.kaivola@gmail.com