Terveystalo participates in the Terapiat etulinjaan co-development project for occupational health clients
The "Terapiat etulinjaan" model of action to support occupational health care is a joint development project with welfare regions, occupational health care, the Institute of Occupational Health and other experts to be implemented during 2025. Terveystalo is one of the first occupational health providers involved in the project. The project will start in the North Ostrobothnia welfare region in spring 2025, after which the model will be introduced in stages for Terveystalo's occupational health customers in other welfare regions.
As a result of the project, Terveystalo will continue to offer psychosocial support to its occupational health clients according to the Terapiat etulinjaan model and will use the work capacity-sensitive Terapianavigaattori and self-care programmes to treat mental health challenges among working-age people.
– All project participants share the common goal of reducing disability due to mental health in Finland. For us, being one of the first to join was natural, as our ambition to reduce our clients' mental health-related absenteeism requires a wide range of mental health activities. By developing the Terapiat etulinjaan operating model together with Occupational Health, we believe that we will succeed in creating a package that best serves the needs of our client organisations," says Silja Komulainen, Senior Physician at Terveystalo Occupational Health.
The project will increase the competence of occupational health professionals in low-threshold mental health support and create a treatment model for psychosocial interventions that integrates with existing work capacity support processes and strengthens cooperation with well-being regions.
– For our occupational health clients, the collaboration will result in more timely and smoother access to care. One concrete result of the cooperation is a therapy navigator that takes work and work capacity issues into account, which we at Terveystalo will use in the initial structuring of mental health challenges and to support treatment guidance for all our occupational health clients in the region," Komulainen describes.
From May 2025, healthcare professionals in the North Ostrobothnia region will be able to refer a client to a Terapianavigaattori, which occupational health nurses will use to assess the client's situation so that they can refer them to the right support and treatment. Clients can also find the navigator on their own at https://www.terapianavigaattori.fi/.
– The Work Capacity Oriented navigator and the Terapiat etulinjaan model developed for occupational health enable a more flexible and individualised treatment path, taking into account factors affecting work capacity, the client's personal needs and the service package made possible by the employer's staff. The new approach also integrates seamlessly with existing care processes in the welfare area, resulting in appropriate and timely support for mental health challenges, regardless of the extent of the client's occupational health services," says Annika Lundgren, the occupational health nurse in charge of coordinating the project on the Terveystalo side.
Self-care programmes as initial support
In the Terapiat etulinjaan project, occupational health nurses in the pilot area of Terveystalo have been trained to support clients in self-care programmes for different mental health challenges.
– Self-care programmes are designed to support clients to work independently on mental health challenges. They include a range of exercises, tasks and instructions to help participants better understand and manage their own wellbeing. The aim of these programmes is to provide concrete tools and strategies to help the participant promote their own mental health, work capacity and to get support from their occupational health nurse to work through the programme," says Lundgren.
