From music to social change.

 

I grew up in Pori, on Finland’s west coast. Music gave me a direction when I needed one. At fourteen, playing became a way to find my strengths and imagine a different future.

 

After working as a musician and producer, I began to look for ways to connect creativity with more compassionate mental health care. I trained in nursing and music therapy, and started working in hospitals and foundations.

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From expert to facilitator

A choir I started with twelve mental health patients became a turning point. Making music together created room for people to express themselves and exercise agency in a setting where they had often felt powerless.

 

What mattered was the shift in our roles: instead of deciding what people needed to do, we made room for what they could create together.

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Meaningful things, together

Young adults told us they wanted meaningful activity and connection. Their wishes helped shape the ELVIS pilot, which I led in Helsinki from 2009 to 2012. Together with colleagues, we developed the Guided Functional Peer Support (GFP) model.

 

That thread still runs through my work: people’s strengths, dignity and ability to shape their own lives. It connects my music, social entrepreneurship and work with organisations.

 

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