In brief
I am a university teacher at the University of Jyväskylä. In this role, I work both in Student Life’s services as a student well-being expert and in the Department of Psychology, where I teach and conduct research. I am the operational model lead and principal investigator of the Student Compass (SC), a web-based program and service designed to enhance student mental well-being and study ability. I direct SC's research and development, and I am responsible for the implementation of the service at all levels.
I am a psychologist (M. Psych.) and a doctoral researcher with expertise in brief psychological interventions, especially FACT (Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), as well as in Digital Mental Health Interventions (DMHI). In my work, counseling, teaching, and research come together: I provide enhanced guidance counseling for students, train and supervise well-being coaches, and develop new solutions to promote student well-being.
Counseling for students
I provide enhanced guidance counseling to degree students, focusing on both psychosocial and study-related well-being. I support students with challenges such as motivation, procrastination, time management difficulties, study fatigue, stress, anxiety, depression, concentration and attention problems, as well as social and communication issues.
Research & development
I lead the research and development of the Student Compass and its various forms of support. The program, which is grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, is a core part of JYU’s student well-being services and has been studied in national and international collaborations. SC can be used independently as self-help, with the support of a well-being coach as a blended intervention, or through enhanced guidance counseling.
My research, which commenced in 2011, focuses particularly on Student Compass as an internet-based intervention: its effectiveness, processes, mechanisms of change, as well as how it can support student mental well-being. More recently, I have also explored the role of AI integration in internet-based interventions. I actively apply research findings to further develop the Student Compass as a service and to guide the training and supervision of well-being coaches.
I am a member of the Contextual Behavioral Science Research Group (Kontekstuaalisen käyttäytymistieteen tutkimusryhmä), which develops and studies process-based intervention methods of cognitive behavioral therapy from the perspective of contextual behavioral science.
Teaching & collaboration
I teach at the Department of Psychology, where I train and supervise Master’s level psychology students who work as well-being coaches in the Student Compass. I also partly coordinate student well-being services for international students, provide training for university staff, and collaborate closely with other well-being partners at JYU and beyond.
Further information:
Student Compass research: https://ok.jyu.fi/en/research-collaboration-development
Research group: https://www.jyu.fi/fi/tutkimusryhmat/kontekstuaalisen-kayttaytymistieteen-tutkimusryhma
Student Life support services: https://www.jyu.fi/en/for-students/instructions-for-bachelors-and-masters-students/student-wellbeing
