Our alum Miia Kaarlela: Psychologist helps individuals while observing major phenomena of our time

Is any one of us perfect?

Miia Kaarlela, psychologist and cognitive psychotherapist at the Finnish Student Health Service FSHS, works with students of the Tampere Universities community. Her workdays contain 45-minute therapy sessions, and she also runs various therapy groups for people with conditions such as anxiety or ADHD. In a smaller scale, she also provides private psychotherapy supported by Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.

“My work is extremely interesting. Clients' situations are highly individual, so I don’t make any pre-assumptions. I am constantly surprised. At the same time, I also see how certain tendencies start to repeat themselves and what kind of phenomena are going on in our time,” says Miia. 

My work is extremely interesting. Clients' situations are highly individual, so I don’t make any pre-assumptions. I am constantly surprised. At the same time, I also see how certain tendencies start to repeat themselves and what kind of phenomena are going on in our time."

Miia Kaarlela

The best moments at Miia’s work are the ones in which a student's long-standing challenges – such as social anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder – slowly begin to ease. In these situations, Miia sees her remedial work succeeding.

“On the other hand, I also want to normalise the fact that we all sometimes feel anxious. We should not look at life too much through the lens of diagnoses and disorders. Otherwise, we are at risk of narrowing down what we consider normal. Not all concentration problems are ADHD, and experiencing crises is part of normal life. Is there such a thing as a perfect person?” Miia asks.

Young adulthood is a new phase in our lives

The demands of our time are reflected in student health care. Young adulthood is a whole new phase of life that did not exist a hundred years ago. In the old days, many young people's life paths were predetermined, whereas today, people in their twenties can and must find their own paths.

“Students often wonder who they actually are and what they ultimately want. They live under pressure and expectations, while social media also creates certain images for them. I find it sad when a 23-year-old thinks that they should be 100% ready,” says Miia.

“Students often wonder who they actually are and what they ultimately want. They live under pressure and expectations, while social media also creates certain images for them. I find it sad when a 23-year-old thinks that they should be 100% ready."

Miia Kaarlela

Rather than aiming for neutrality, Miia finds it important for therapists to use their own emotions as tools. One thing that helps Miia to mirror young adults’ sense of incompleteness is the fact that she herself is a career changer. Miia only started studying psychology after her previous profession as a journalist, after realising that deep down she was more interested in the people than the news.

Career changers study with pleasure and determination

Miia says that she was very determined in her psychology studies. She enjoyed immensely the studies and the fact that they allowed her to spend her days around such an interesting subject.

“Before that, I had been working for a decade and started a family. Academic freedom felt tangible as studies were not as scheduled as working life. I took the most out of studies in my middle age and felt that a new life was about to begin,” says Miia.

Miia says that psychology graduates encompass a wide spectrum of people and personalities. Some go on to work in therapeutic work, some as researchers, some in human resources in organisations. Miia believes that the key common denominator is an interest in people.

“A psychologist should be empathetic and perceptive. In therapy, a patient's situation may often feel chaotic and obscure at first, but education teaches you to analyse it and make sense of it. Using your own emotions in your work is important, but education gives you the confidence to adopt a professional role in therapy,” Miia says.

Miia finds both the City of Tampere and Tampere University to be very important to her. She has completed three degrees at the university, and currently she works with students of the Tampere Universities community. Tampere is also a pleasant city to live and work in due to its strong tailwind.

“I’m proud of both Tampere and Tampere University. It was a nice feeling to notice that even after a long time I still had the same student number. In addition to my social security number, that’s something I’ve carried for most of my life."

Miia Kaarlela

“I’m proud of both Tampere and Tampere University. It was a nice feeling to notice that even after a long time I still had the same student number. In addition to my social security number, that’s something I’ve carried for most of my life,” Miia says.

Text: Tiina Leivo

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