Goal-oriented and structured
Therapy is focused and purposeful. We set clear therapeutic goals early on and work actively toward them. Sessions are structured, and you may also have exercises or reflections to work on between sessions. Most clients commit to anywhere between 1–30 sessions, depending on their goals and needs.

What happens before and during the first sessions?

• Before your first session, we usually arrange a brief phone call to discuss your situation and answer any questions you may have.
• The first sessions focus on understanding your concerns, clarifying your goals, and creating a personalised treatment plan. Many clients find this process both clarifying and motivating.

How do ongoing sessions work?
Ongoing sessions follow the agreed treatment plan while regularly reviewing progress. Between-session exercises may be suggested to support your growth, always tailored to your everyday life, capacity, and goals.

Payment is by bankcard in the session, or in the case of online sessions, you will receive an invoice to pay by bank transfer. We can offer KELA rebates for services with our psychotherapists. At present, KELA does not offer rebates for psychology services. However many EU and international insurance policies cover the cost of therapy sessions with a psychologist. We can help fill in any paperwork you may require to make an insurance claim

Unfortunately, our Helsinki office has some accessibility limitations. The main entrance is flat (photo 1) and there is a lift to the second floor (photo 2), but there are multiple steps leading up to the office itself (photo 3). Staff is available to help with getting prams up these stairs. The office itself is all on one floor, with a small wooden ledge at the doors (photo 4). Our bathrooms are large, but there is no disabled toilet with railings or other mobility support structures. If you have any concerns about accessiblity or want further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@compasspsychology.fi.

In order to make weekly therapy more accessible and available for those who need frequent treatment, we are offer a 45 minute session during office hours for sessions held on a weekly basis for 100€ per session.

For therapy or psychological consultation sessions booked less frequently (single sessions or 1, 2 or 3 sessions per month) the session length is longer (50 minutes) and the fee is 110€ per session. 

All our sessions include paying for professional preparation for the sessions, such as writing emails, letter and, reports; phone calls as required, and psychometric testing.

If you need to cancel a session please contact us as soon as possible, and at least 48 hours before your appointment time. Cancellations within less than 48 hours will incur the full fee for the session. If you are ill with cold and flu symptoms you should attend the session online or via telephone. At our discretion we will waive the fee for cancellations due to severe illness or other reasons.

During the corona virus pandemic we offered sessions online to many clients, and we continue to do so for clients who are unable to travel to sessions in person for different reasons. We often get asked whether this will be as helpful as our normal face to face meetings so we went to the research to answer this question for you. A comprehensive review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of Internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions in 2008, assessed over 9000 clients in 92 studies and found that online therapy is as effective as face to face therapy (for more details click here). This has been supported by many empirical research studies since, which have shown the effectiveness of online therapy is equivalent for many types of problem, including depression and several different anxiety disorders. There is a good blog article from Psychology Today entitled “Does Online Therapy Work?” which contains links to some of these research studies and also outlines the benefits and drawbacks of online therapy.  

 Psychologists study the way people feel, think, act and interact. Clinical psychology uses science, theory and clinical knowledge to better understand, prevent, and reduce psychologically based distress and to promote well-being. Clinical psychologists receive six to nine years of training in psychological assessment, clinical formulation and therapy. They may work in research, teaching, forensic psychology or therapy settings. In Australia, endorsed Clinical Psychologists complete a Masters’ Degree or combined Masters/PhD in Psychology and undergo two further years of supervised training in a registrar program. In the UK, Clinical Psychologists complete a Clinical Doctorate. Currently Finland does not have a Clinical Psychology training program and there are very few clinical psychologists working in the country.

Our psychotherapeutical approach is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), including aspects of this such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Schema Therapy, and many of our psychologists are also trained in therapies such as Compassion Focused Therapy, DBT, CAT and other methodologies.

In Compass Psychology, all psychologists participate in regular professional development together in-house every week to ensure that our skills are improved and maintained. This is crucial in maintaining our professional expertise and competence. All psychologists also receive monthly supervision from a clinical supervisor.

A psychologist can give you expert advice and help in changing your behaviour or understanding your life situation. Psychologists study all aspects of human behaviour, including the development of people from infancy to old age, social and educational aspects, work behaviours, cultural influences, and neurobiology, as well as psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety. Therefore psychologists can help you both in a crisis (such as severe depression) and with a more long term dilemma (such as long term recovery from anxiety; work stress; relationship issues; parenting; etc…), due to their indepth understanding of normal human behaviour over the entire lifespan.

Unlike psychiatrists, who are medical doctors specialising in mental health disorders, psychologists can also help people who are not in mental distress. For example, they can help you to live your best life when you are better and recovered, and help you prevent a relapse, or they can help if you are just curious about how you could thrive more in your life. Psychologists aim to use the latest scientific knowledge when providing advice and also aim to be highly collaborative in the process, offering clients the chance to question and understand why a particular treatment may be suggested.

You do not need a referral and are welcome to contact us directly to make an appointment. You may also be referred by a doctor or other professional.

Quite often, we will speak to you on the telephone before you book your appointment, which will give you a chance to ask about  what will happen in the first session and about therapy in general. When you come to the office, you will be asked to fill out a form with some background information. You will also be asked to read and sign a consent form which outlines the conditions of treatment and your rights to confidentiality. These will be sent as electronic documents if you only do session remotely.

After this, the first question may be “What brings you here today?” You will then have the opportunity to tell your psychologist the reasons you are seeking therapy and what issues you would like to work on. We will discuss your goals and what you hope will be different in your life as a result of coming for therapy. We are likely to talk about your current situation and personal history as well as your future ambitions. Psychologists work in different ways depending on the type of therapy offered, so the exact questions may differ. In all cases, you should expect a therapy atmosphere that is safe, caring, professional, respectful and non-judgemental.

You will discuss future appointments and a treatment plan in session with your psychologist within the first few sessions. All appointments will be made at a time convenient to both yourself and the psychologist.

Therapy can last from one session to twenty or more sessions in a single year. In general, most people gain benefit from short term therapy by attending between 4 and 16 sessions in a three to six month period. You may wish to attend weekly, fortnightly or less frequently. In some cases you may end therapy but return to it many months or years later.

Compass Psychology Oy stores and processes personal data in accordance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR 2016/679) and the current Personal Data Act (523/1999). Under section 16 of the Act on Health Care Professionals (559/1994), it is the duty of health care professionals to prepare and retain patient documents. Under section 12 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (785/1992), health care professionals must record in patient documents the information necessary for the arranging, planning, providing and monitoring of care and treatment for a patient. The Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Patient Documents (298/2009) includes more detailed provisions regarding the preparation and retaining of patient documents. The primary objective of patient documents is to facilitate the planning and provision of patient care and to contribute to the continuity of treatment. There is no need to record or summarise discussions with patients at a detailed level.

Confidentiality is very important for building a trusting relationship with your psychologist. All the information shared with your psychologist is kept confidential except if there is a risk of you or someone else getting hurt. There may also be times that sharing information with other professionals involved in your care may be helpful to coordinate treatment. However we would only share this information if you give us written permission to do so.

We adhere to all regulations related to privacy and confidentiality of client data in a health context as per Finnish regulations. You can read more about the regulations below. For a full copy of our GDPR policy please email hatty@compasspsychology.fi. 

For guidance on recognition of foreign qualifications and the registration process, we recommend contacting official organisations such as Valvira, MentalHealth.fi, or Psychological Practitioners Finland ry (PPF ry).

We recommend the following resources:

• MentalHealth.fi – information about psychology professions and working in Finland from Psychological Practitioners Finland ry (PPF ry) – an association supporting foreign-trained psychologists in Finland
• Valvira – the Finnish authority responsible for professional registration, now known as Lupa-ja Valvonta Virasto (LVV) https://lvv.fi/etusivu

These organisations provide up-to-date and authoritative guidance.

Compass Psychology offers placements for clinical psychology students currently enrolled in a Master’s program requiring a five to six-month long placement. Please email info@compasspsychology.fi to request a link to our application form. Internships must be applied for 4 to 10 months in advance. Any internship opportunities are considered on a case-by-case basis and depend on supervision capacity, legal requirements, and current organisational needs.

Yes. Compass Psychology offers tailored corporate workshops and trainings focused on mental health, well-being, and psychological safety for organisations, public sector bodies, and international teams.

You can learn more on our Corporate Workshops & Trainings page.

Our workshops and trainings are designed for:

• Organisations and companies
• Public sector and educational institutions
• International and multicultural teams

All workshops are tailored to the needs of the organisation.