Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County pioneers training on short-term cognitive behavioural therapy for children
The Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County is the first one nationwide to start offering training on a children’s short-term cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) method for the professionals in its family counselling clinic and children’s mental health services. This method has been developed by the First Line Therapies operating model and HUS Psychiatry in cooperation with psychologist and psychotherapist educators at the universities of Helsinki, Turku and Oulu.
Short-term cognitive therapy is intended for children aged 7 to 12 and, in certain cases, for those as young as 6, focusing on mild to moderate mental health disorders. The method provides models for treating common mental health challenges in children. Currently, short-term CBT includes treatment models for anxiety, mood disorders and behavioural issues.
First training programme graduates from our wellbeing services county
The first training programme graduates in all of Finland come from our wellbeing services county. Six people graduated from the training programme alongside two method directors on 21 May 2025. At the moment, there are still 15 more people from our wellbeing services county studying in the programme.
The degree programme is currently ongoing in 15 wellbeing services counties, and a total of 100 professionals are studying the therapy model in different parts of Finland.
Aiming for extensive roll-out of the operating model
The goal is that all psychologists and nurses working in children’s mental health services will have undergone this training in the future, which will ensure that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to support children’s mental health effectively and comprehensively.
Read more in our online article: Introducing Short-Term Cognitive Therapy for Children—A New Treatment Model in Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County
- Family centre