Episode 95
Matt meets Annabel Battersby and Dr. Hatty Francis-Ehnholm in the latest edition of the Mastering Finland Podcast, they are both mental health professionals working in Helsinki to meet the needs of the internationals community.
Their company Compass Psychology is a service by migrants to Finland for migrants to Finland. It is run by registered psychologists and mental health professionals and maintains high standards of service for clients. Based in the centre of Helsinki, they treat people in a safe and welcoming and special way. Compass Psychology is able to deliver psychotherapy services in 6 different languages as a private practice but not yet Kela funded.
How did they end up in Finland? They were brought by love, by Finnish men. The two women were respectively hanging out in their own countries and were visited by Finnish men. One of them met at a house party on millennium eve and was whisked away to Finland almost immediately and in January 2000 visited Finland for the first time looked magical, white and snowy. The other visited Finland in May 2005 and was caught by surprise by it being light at 3am! Coming to a country where it never really got dark at the time definitely had an other-worldly aspect to it. Even the host Matt said that he has never really got used to the day and night extremes in summer and winter..
November is a struggle - struggle with the lack of sunrise and sunsets every day, leaves a sense of longing. Matt appreciates natural beauty, look at the clouds on every trip - everywhere in Finland nature is very close at hand which is very good for people’s well being.
To Annabel and Hatty it is obvious that Finns appreciate the connection with nature and are equipped for all the seasons of the year. Having a dog helps to get out into fresh air each day, but even without a dog you really have to get out at least once a day for your own welfare and mental wellbeing.
Both women were surprised by the silence of Finns, which they understand as as a way of being given space. However in many English language cultures, there is a sense of silence meaning that something has been done wrong. As mental health professionals both Hatty and Annable feel that maintaining silence in therapy can be a useful tool. It can give time for reflection and looking with an outside perspective. Their experiences of returning to London or English language cultures from Finland can now be challenging for them due to the sheer volume and noise of these populations. They feel that Finns value peace, they don’t appreciate that peace being disturbed and these are values that they have begun to adopt for themselves in some small ways.
There’s a lot of basics like seeing getting a haircut, the doctor, going to the dentist, ordering books that are not so straight forward and there is a need for mastery of the environment, in this case Mastering Finland. There are resources available to help people settle into Finland but you need to be signposted towards them. Experiences of Annabel and Hatty were that there were no resources available to them when they first arrived. There were differences between the Finnish and Swedish speaking communities in Finland. Everyone has their own different story of adapting to life in Finland which is part of the purpose of the Mastering Finland platform.
There are a lot of unwritten rules in Finland that you don’t know when you first get to Finland. Finns can be quite forthright about the rules and then confrontational. In Finland everyone sticks to the rules so that society can stay safe by everyone following the same rules, but those rules are unwritten! Mums and babies free transport as an example - but no one tells you. It’s really important to observe as a way of learning rules. Their company Compass Psychology has services specifically geared towards new and expectant mums in Finland and you should check out their website and FB group for more details.
Finding connection, like their mum’s groups, is really important if you can find moments of belonging and connection then learning slowly what is going on around you to be able to understand it and eventually become a part of it. However tapping into resilience and inner strengths will be essential to getting through the adversity of the initial years, especially as an adult with children, having responsibility not just for yourself but others too.
Website:
Email:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/compasspsychologyfinland/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/compass_psychology_/
Sign Up for New Mother’s Group:
New Mother’s Group Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/newmothersgrouphelsinki
Podcast episode about the New Mother’s Group: