Our ideology can be summarised in one sentence: “In order for me to be able to truly encounter another person, I must face myself and confront my shadow.”
Tommy Hellsten’s book
If you seek safety, live dangerously. Read more about profound truths to discover a more fulfilling experience of life itself. Tommy Hellsten: Courage to Surrender – 8 Contradictions on the Spiritual Path.
Our story
“Through my own experiences I want to encourage others to believe that it is possible to be set free from one’s past and be born as oneself to live one’s own life!” – Tommy Hellsten
As a therapist, I offer you strong professional expertise, holistic support, and a warm presence. I am both observant and conversational.
Together, it is possible to face even the most difficult matters.
Some of the themes we might work with include: anxiety, burnout, emptiness in life, challenges at work, depression, shame, guilt, developmental trauma, addictions, relationship difficulties, narcissism, losses, transgenerational/community-borne burdens, violence—including spiritual abuse.
I bring long experience of meeting people in their deepest humanity. My background is in business, after which I served as a pastor. Especially the years as a prison chaplain taught me a great deal about humanity and about myself.
I offer human-centred therapy in Kallio, Helsinki. As a therapist, I want to be a safe and accepting person for you, with whom you can be exactly who you are. I want to be present when you, at your own pace, encounter the things that currently challenge your everyday life, cause conflicts, or perhaps prevent you from being who you really are.
The therapy process is never straightforward or easy, and it is good to approach this with humility. However, as a person, I always believe in the good, and that everything will work out. That is why I also believe in you.
On my own growth path, I have had to encounter eating disorders, codependency and themes related to a loved one’s drinking and depression. The challenges of relationships and blended families are also familiar themes to me and I have learned a lot from them, for example about setting boundaries. Issues related to sexual minorities are also close to my heart. I have written my thesis on the topic: The process of coming out of the rainbow population – effects on mental well-being and growth into who you are.
Please contact me if you would like to book an appointment. We will get to know each other and make a preliminary plan for possible future therapy, based on which you can decide how you want to proceed. Swedish is my mother tongue so we can also work in Swedish if you wish. I am also fluent in Finnish.
Master of Socal Sciences, Postgraduate Diploma in Peace Building and Conflict Transformation, Psychodrama Facilitator Trainee
As a therapist, I am an empathetic, perceptive listener who is genuinely present. I am also quick to pick up on what hasn’t yet found words, and I ask questions that help bring new insights to light. It is important to me to create a safe and supportive space where you can pause to reflect on your own life and be met exactly as you are.
I walk alongside you gently and with curiosity, exploring what is happening in your life and what it evokes within you. I serve as your guide on the journey toward deeper self-awareness, a more balanced daily life, and inner peace. I believe that every internal conflict resolved within us is reflected in our relationships and is thus a step toward greater peace in life.
Themes I am familiar with include domestic violence, dysfunctional family dynamics, developmental trauma, parenting and single parenthood, excessive strength, loneliness, exhaustion and depression, codependency, experiences of rejection and exclusion, and intergenerational transmission of burdens. No aspect of the human experience is too small, too big, or too difficult to explore together.
I will meet you with respect and confidentiality. An authentic and safe encounter lays the foundation for a deeper understanding of your own needs, feelings, and resources, opening up space for change and growth.
Feel free to reach out at life’s small or major turning points. You are not alone. We can work together for a shorter or longer period—you decide. My native language is Finnish, but I also provide services in English. You are warmly welcome.
I invite you to take a moment with me to gently pause and reflect on what is happening in your life right now — whether it feels important, heavy, or still difficult to put into words.
Life does not always go according to our own script. It surprises us, unsettles us, and sometimes pushes us to our limits. At times like these, old coping strategies may no longer support us and may even prevent us from living a life that feels true to who we are. Pausing and speaking things out loud can open new ways of understanding yourself and your own history.
In my work, the most important thing is to meet you as you are — including the parts of you that may have remained hidden beneath the demands of everyday life. I don’t offer ready-made answers but walk beside you, listening and asking questions.
Themes close to my heart include challenges in working life, attachment patterns, the experience of rejection, exhaustion, letting go, finding your own path, slowing down — and your unique story.
The knots in my own life began to loosen when a friend gently said to me in the midst of a difficult decision:
“You have justified postponing this many times. The right moment will come when the time is right.”
I paused to consider her words and realized that I could not wait forever for the “right moment.” It was time to put my well-being first.
That’s why I want to ask you:
Is there something in your life you’ve been putting off — even though you know it’s important to you?
Together, we can explore the questions that arise in your life. Nothing is too small or too big to bring into our shared space.
You are warmly welcome to meet me in Töölö, Helsinki, and in the center of Mikkeli.
I am an empathetic therapist-in-training, committed to attuned interaction and integrating a body-oriented approach. In my professional career, I have worked in the fields of art, artist education, and art research, and I have also studied somatic methods and body psychotherapy. In our work together, you can strengthen your connection to your body and explore themes that are meaningful for your well-being and personal growth.
Ihminen tavattavissa – therapist trainee , Psychodrama facilitator student
You are welcome just as you are to pause together with your life. I hope you will find a space where you can be met at your own pace, with everything you wish to share.
Ihminen tavattavissa -training program is basicly established to rise individual consciousness. The deepest longing of humanity and of all individual persons is to be known – to be seen and to feel true connection.
In order for me to be able to truly encounter another person, I must face myself and confront my shadow. If I neglect this work, I won’t able to really be in contact with another person. Instead, I will see the other as though distorted through my own unconscious shadow. In this sort of meeting, the other isn’t seen as him- or herself, but is “hijacked” into my own inner drama which is played out without my knowing.
The solution is consciousness – I need to become conscious of my shadow. By becoming more conscious, I am set free to live a life of my own choosing – in freedom and creativity!
It was for this purpose that the four year training program called Ihminen Tavattavissa was founded. The first class met in 2007 and to this date, about 580 people from around Finland have participated or are participating.
Please note that this training program is held only in finnish.
