Social work/mental health in Finland

zafiro · Post by **zafiro** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:34 am

I'm a licensed clinical social worker with a master's degree from a non-EU country (USA), and my boyfriend (a Finnish/US dual citizen) and I are considering relocating to Finland within the next 5-7 years. I'm trying to get a sense of what the social work -particularly mental health- field is like in Finland/Helsinki, because I'm assuming it must be somewhat different. I know I will have to apply for my degree to transfer and may have to take additional coursework, but I'm also curious about what the job market might be like. Is there a demand for English speaking therapists? It seems like it would be extremely important for me to be fluent in Finnish to do therapy in Finland, and I've already started studying Finnish in hopes that in 5-7 years I'll be at least somewhat intelligible. I'm pretty good with language learning (also fluent in Spanish) but I recognize that Finnish is a lot harder to learn than most languages...
Can anyone provide any resources or information about the mental health system in Finland and how it works? Does anyone know what the job market might be like for English speaking therapists? I know that a lot can change in 5-7 years, but I'm trying to get some sort of sense of what things are like. I'd appreciate any help you might be able to provide!

**Sponsor:**

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:36 am

Is there a demand for English speaking therapists?

Most likely, as we all know you have to be crazy to move to Finland.

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:30 pm

For a big city,high density,top level country there is a good ratio of the disillusioned/medicated peeps.
Definitely a Finnish speaking job requirement.........................

Finland Forum

Find information about moving to, living in and life in Finland