My services in English
Sex therapy and couples therapy
Sexuality is a part of being human. Sex is just a part of our sexuality. In sex therapy you can discuss the most intimate part of you with a professional. You can come to therapy alone or together with your partner(s). Visiting a sex therapist is a good idea when you notice being stuck in a vicious cycle and you are unable to find a way out on your own. Sometimes the process is short sometimes we need more visits. Quite often the process is something between 5-20 visits. But this is not set in stone. Sometimes the road to change can be found in just a few visits of counselling.
Common reasons to start sex therapy are:
Lack of desire or change in libido, orgasm and erection difficulties, sexual communication challenges, body image, compulsive sexual behavior (so called sex addiction, porn addiction.) and the effect of trauma history, sexual or relational trauma. Life events and illness can stir up need for therapeutic help. Childbirth, parenting, involuntary infertility, aging and menopause can promote change in one´s sexuality. Crises such as divorce, contemplating the need for a divorce, infidelity or extreme jealousy are themes often discussed in therapy. Your sexual orientation or changes in it might also be a reason to see a therapist, to be able to find more clarity. These examples are only a handful of the reasons to seek out help.
In sex therapy we look your life as a whole and how your sexuality fits in it. In therapy we work towards your unique goals and at your own pace.
Sexuality fluctuates and evolves throughout our lives. There is no right or wrong time to seek out counselling. So far I have worked with people between the age of 19-70 years of age. We will work together using different methods and possible home assignments. Our meetings are always 100% confidential. I am happy to help if you are still unsure whether I´m the right person to help you.
My services are face to face here at Hyvinkää and remotely to all of Finland!
Couples Therapy in Hyvinkää – Building Connection, Understanding and Safety
Couples therapy is about building connection, understanding and emotional safety. The focus of therapy is not on deciding who is right or wrong, but on the bond between you.
In a relationship, the longing to feel close, seen and heard can be very strong. Everyday stress, misunderstandings and recurring conflicts can gradually create distance between two people without either of you intending it. Couples therapy offers a safe space to slow down and explore what matters most in your relationship.
You can come to couples therapy at any stage of your relationship – when you want to strengthen your connection, resolve recurring conflicts, work through a relationship crisis, or when you are already wondering whether separation might be the right choice.
When can couples therapy help?
Couples therapy may be helpful when:
conversations repeatedly turn into arguments, silence or emotional distance
you feel that your partner does not understand or hear you
intimacy, touch or sexuality has changed
trust has been broken, for example because of infidelity
jealousy, insecurity or fear of abandonment is affecting your relationship
changes in life circumstances, such as having children, stress or a crisis, are putting pressure on your relationship
you keep having the same arguments without finding a way forward
you are considering separation
you want to rebuild your relationship and create a stronger sense of connection
Trauma-informed and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
My work with couples is trauma-informed and emotionally focused. This means that we look beyond the arguments themselves and explore the emotions, needs and experiences underneath them.
Sometimes the argument about household responsibilities is not really about the dishes. The conflict may be connected to a deeper experience of not feeling appreciated, supported or important.
Sometimes one partner becomes demanding or pursues connection, while the other withdraws or shuts down. Over time, this can become a repeating cycle that neither of you knows how to break.
We can also look at the past – not to blame it, but to understand how earlier experiences and attachment patterns may be influencing your relationship today.
In long-term relationships, old attachment wounds and survival responses can become activated. These may show up as:
fear of rejection or abandonment
difficulty trusting
emotional withdrawal
becoming overly activated or defensive
freezing or shutting down during conflict
difficulty expressing needs
difficulty receiving closeness or comfort
When you learn to recognise these patterns together, a different kind of connection can become possible.
You can begin to understand not only what your partner is doing, but what is happening underneath it – and what each of you is actually longing for.
How do we work together?
In couples therapy, we create a safe space for both partners and both perspectives.
We slow down the interaction so that you can hear each other more clearly. Together, we can:
identify recurring negative interaction cycles and learn how to interrupt them
explore the emotions and attachment needs underneath conflicts
strengthen emotional connection, empathy and communication
practise expressing needs in ways that are easier for your partner to hear
learn how to disagree and have difficult conversations more constructively
explore intimacy, touch and sexuality when these are part of your relationship concerns
The relationship is the client in couples therapy.
I am not there to take sides or decide which partner is right. My role is to support the relationship and help both of you understand what is happening between you. Both partners deserve space to be heard, understood and treated with respect.
We move at a pace that feels appropriate for you and work towards the goals you set together.
Couples Therapy in Hyvinkää and Online
I offer couples therapy in Hyvinkää as well as online sessions throughout Finland.
You do not need to wait until your relationship is in crisis before seeking help. Sometimes a few sessions can help you understand a recurring pattern and find a new way of responding to each other.
If you are wondering whether couples therapy could help you, you are warmly welcome to get in touch.
You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Sometimes a safe space to slow down and listen to each other can be the beginning of something different.
Trauma psychotherapy – student practice
Trauma Psychotherapy in Hyvinkää – Mind, Body and Attachment-Focused Therapy
I have worked for many years with people around themes of motherhood, relationships, sexuality, family life and the body. Through these encounters, I have seen again and again that the challenges we face today do not always begin in the present moment.
Anxiety, exhaustion, emotional overwhelm or constant striving can be connected to survival patterns that were learned many years ago – ways of staying safe, coping and getting through life as best as possible.
I do not want to treat only symptoms. I want to see the whole person.
Perhaps you are looking for a therapist with whom you can feel safe. Someone who does not focus only on your symptoms, but who wants to understand what has happened to you and how your experiences are affecting your life today.
Maybe you notice things in your body that are difficult to explain. You may feel constantly overactivated or shut down. You may withdraw from others even though what you long for most is genuine connection. Close relationships may feel unsafe, or you may find it difficult to trust people.
You may also notice that, on a rational level, you understand yourself very well – and yet change still feels difficult.
The body carries information that we cannot always put into words.
In trauma psychotherapy, the body is a natural part of the therapeutic process. Together we can learn to notice changes in your nervous system and emotional state – tension, restlessness, withdrawal, numbness, a sense of unsafety or other signals from the body.
This does not mean that you need to do anything that feels overwhelming or uncomfortable.
Body-oriented work in trauma therapy is gentle and collaborative. It may involve noticing sensations, breathing, movement, posture or bodily responses – not something that is done to you, but something we explore together.
In trauma-informed psychotherapy, we first build enough safety for both therapy and everyday life. All work progresses at your pace and according to your sense of safety.
Attachment Trauma and Childhood Survival Patterns
If, as a child, you had to adapt to other people’s needs, become overly responsible, carefully monitor other people’s reactions or manage without enough emotional safety, you may have developed survival strategies that were necessary at the time.
As an adult, these same patterns can show up as difficulties with:
setting healthy boundaries
asking for help
trusting others
recognising your own needs
calming yourself in close relationships
receiving care and support
resting without guilt
The goal of therapy is not to blame the past or your parents. The aim is to understand why you learned to survive in the ways you did.
And perhaps to ask an important question:
Do you want to continue surviving, or would you like to begin living more fully?
Ethical and Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy
The deeper therapy goes, the more it requires professional knowledge, responsibility and ethical practice.
For me, it is important to be an ethical therapist. That is my core reason why I am training to become a trauma psychotherapist. I want us to be able to explore what has happened – and what may have been missing – in ways that are safe, respectful and grounded in current understanding of trauma, attachment and nervous system regulation.
As a psychotherapy student, I do not yet know everything, and I believe honesty about this is part of ethical practice. At the same time, my work is supported by regular clinical supervision, which is an essential part of psychotherapy training. In this sense, you are held not only by me, but by a wider professional framework.
In therapy, I walk alongside you. I do not provide ready-made answers, but support you in understanding yourself more deeply and finding solutions that fit your life.
Trauma Psychotherapy in Hyvinkää
If you are looking for trauma psychotherapy in Hyvinkää, attachment-focused therapy, body-oriented psychotherapy, or trauma-informed counselling where your mind, body, emotions, relationships and life story are all welcomed, you are warmly invited to contact me.
We can begin with what feels difficult, repetitive or burdensome in your life right now – something you no longer wish to carry alone.
You do not have to keep carrying everything on your own. ❤️
Acupuncture and Gua Sha
Acupuncture has been used to treat people for thousand´s of years. I have been trained especially for ailments during pregnancy, childbirth and menopause. I also do acupressure and ear acupuncture. Ear treatments can be done without needles. I am familiar with the ”forbidden points” during pregnancy and know how to promote labour.
Gua sha is also a part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). During treatment one uses a gua sha stone to apply adequate pressure and stretching to the skin and especially the fascia underneeth. I use cold pressed coconut oil as a lubricating agent on the skin.
Gua sha promotes circulation in the tissue. It is very helpful with tight muscles, and relieving stiffness in the body. It can be done everywhere in the body. When massaging the face and neck only a light pressure is used.
Gua sha leaves ”sha” -marks on the skin. Often looks like light bruising. These marks disappear within 2-4 days. Treatment is not supposed to be painful. It´s suitable to people who don´t like traditional massages or find them too painful.
After treatment you should feel relaxed and maybe slightly sleepy.
I also offer hot stone massages and Indian head massages.
Different techniques can be combined together to your liking.
Please, book a time using the contact form or send a message!
Midwifery services
As a Midwife I am very familiar with gynecological issues and sexuality, vaginismus, painful sex and lichen for example. I have seen both the happy and the sad end of parenthood during my work at the hospital. You are more than welcome to come talk to me over parenthood, infertility, pregnancy related loss or about your feelings should you have a a child who is contemplating one´s identity.
I am available to discuss childbirth before or after it has happened. I have worked as a Midwife in the hospital setting for almost two decades. I have a lot of insight to offer. Sometimes we get stuck even though we would like to move on. Negative birth experience or fear of childbirth can really put a strain on your family life. Sometimes those things can hinder us from trying to have more children or even to strart trying for the first one. I can help you with this.
I can put together a package to cater for your individual needs. Would you like that your partner could help you with acupressure during childbirth? I could teach you. Would you like a personalized session before birth? Help navigating the Finnish healthcare system? I can make that happen.
Given my training I can assure you that all the treatments I offer are safe for you and you baby during pregnancy. Acupuncture for trying to promote labour is available only after 37 weeks.
If you are unsure or want more info, please use the get in touch button above to reach the contact form or my contact details.
Sincerely yours,
Sanna Oksman-Niemi
