Help for mental health problems

Crises and mood swings are part of life, but if you or someone close to you has been feeling low for a long time, the symptoms severely disrupt life or they may be a sign of an illness, you should seek help.  Such symptoms include long-term anxiety, tension, fear, depression, hopelessness, poor concentration, extreme exhaustion, severe stress, prolonged sleeplessness, hyperactivity or eating disorders.

Seek help also if you feel that your sense of reality is faltering or it is happening to someone close to you.

You can take tests intended for assessing your mental health online, for example, on the Mentalhub.fi website. The results are indicative; the actual diagnosis can only be made by healthcare professionals. 

With the help of the web questionnaires, you can find out if there is any reason to suspect a disorder such as an anxiety, depressive, obsessive compulsive, panic or eating disorder. You can also take a web questionnaire to find out about a fear of social situations. Older people can take a questionnaire that helps to recognise symptoms of depression in older age. 

Self-assessment tests on the Mentalhub.fi (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.

In urgent or life-threatening situations, call the emergency number 112. In other cases, contact your health and social services centre, crisis emergency services, your occupational healthcare or, if necessary outside office hours, the hospital emergency services.

If the person needing help is a child or a young person, contact the child welfare clinic or school healthcare. Students should contact student welfare services.

In connection with a divorce, the death of a person close to you or some other similar crisis in your life, you can receive help from the health and social services centre or social welfare services.

Private doctors, psychiatrists and psychotherapists can also help. 

You can ring call the national crisis helpline of the Finnish Association for Mental Health Opens in a new window.and ask for advice.

FinFami – Finnish Central Association of Families of People with mental illness has 18 local member associations Opens in a new window.that offer information and support to help families cope with the situation.

Yes. A family member or a friend of the person who needs help can also contact the health and social services centre, crisis emergency services or hospital emergency services.

You will receive first aid and urgent care immediately. In non-urgent cases, the assessment of the need for treatment is carried out on the same day as the place of treatment was contacted. In non-urgent cases, treatment must be provided within three months of the assessment of the need for treatment.

In non-urgent cases, you must receive psychiatric specialist medical care within fourteen days of the needs assessment. The treatment evaluations and specialist assessments of children and young people (under 23 years) must be carried out within six weeks referral. The care should start within three months from when the need for care was diagnosed.

When you have been using mental health services regularly for three months, you can apply to Kela for rehabilitative psychotherapy. You will need a psychiatrist's opinion on your need for therapy.

Kela's rehabilitative psychotherapy is meant for people between the ages of 16 and 67. It can be individual, group, family or couples psychotherapy. Music therapy or visual art therapy can also be offered to people between the ages of 16 and 25. Therapy for young people may include parental guidance visits.

Kela reimburses for psychotherapy if the person's ability to work or study is threatened by the illness and the person can be supported with the therapy. The support period can last from one to three years. 

Kela's reimbursement covers a major part of the rehabilitative psychotherapy. If necessary, you can apply to Kela for other support to cover the copayment.