Speakers

My research topics have been intertwined with the treatment of and recovery from substance abuse problems. Even though substance abuse and other dependencies are involved in many of the problems of social work clients, there is very little Finnish social work-related research on them. However, since the early 1990s, substance abuse and addictions have been studied by researchers at Tampere University.

The Research Group on Treatment and Addiction (TreAdd), which I lead, builds on this tradition of substance abuse research, and focuses on the current phenomena of addictions and their treatment. The group aims to use the realistic evaluation approach to produce information for the development of treatments, which will also have practical relevance in the training of therapists. In the TreAdd research group, research focuses on the client, the worker and the treatment processes, or various combinations of these. Research on the effectiveness of treatment often requires longitudinal follow-up study designs which are typical of the studies done by my group. Methodologically, we adhere to both quantitative and qualitative research approaches, and our methodological approach can be considered eclectic.

Our current research interests include e.g. the effectiveness of the segmentation of clients with substance use problems, rehabilitative substance abuse services for young people, the social consequences of gambling, as well as research on the individual differences in therapists’ effectiveness. At the moment, I lead two major research projects funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (Client Segmentation and Services for People with SUDs – Will the Effectiveness Improve? SEGMENT, 2021-2023; At the Intersection of Substance Abuse and Child Protection Service NUPPU, 2023-2025). Read more about our research on the research group website (https://research.tuni.fi/treadd-en/).

Our research interests are related to the goals of the recently established TRANSFORM research platform (Towards Effective and Equitable Welfare Services – Translating Scientific Knowledge into Improved Practices and Outcomes) within Tampere University which I lead.

Intermediate studies in university pedagogy has enabled publishing in the field of higher education. I have recently focused on e-learning, teaching technologies and assessment practices in virtual environments, but also on the experiences of supervision of social work students during their practice placement.

Recent publications

• Ruisniemi, Arja & Itäpuisto, Maritta & Kuusisto, Katja (2023) Relational parenthood in addiction recovery. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, ahead of print. [Open Access] 
• Ruisniemi, Arja & Vaininen, Satu & Kuusisto, Katja (2023) PerheSomeBody-menetelmä perheiden päihdekuntoutuksessa – havaintoja ja vanhempien kokemuksia. Perhe- ja pariterapialehti (accepted) 
• Kuusisto, Katja & Ekqvist, Eeva & Kalliomaa-Puha, Laura (2021) Erityistä tukea tarvitsevat päihteitä ongelmallisesti käyttävät asiakkaat sosiaalityöntekijöiden tulkinnoissa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 86(4), 419–430. [Open Access] 
• Kuusisto, Katja & Evilampi, Satu & Ekqvist, Eeva & Juhila Kirsi (2021) Discourses of behavioural addiction, normalisation and techniques of governmentality in inpatient substance abuse treatment. Nordic Social Work Research. [Open Access] 
• Kuusisto, Katja & Lintonen, Tomi (2020) Factors predicting satisfaction in outpatient substance abuse treatment: a prospective follow-up study. Substance Abuse treatment, Prevention, and Policy 15, artikkeli nro 35. [Open Access] 

MARGI research group focuses on social and welfare work among adults, specifically mental health, substance abuse, and supported housing services. The services are located at the margins of welfare services and targeted to vulnerable people living in difficult conditions and suffering from various problems. Thus, the research group conducts research that is closely connected to issues of participation, inequality, and poverty. For example, the group’s recent research projects have focused on the responsibilisation of workers and clients in mental health and substance abuse services, homelessness and the Housing First principle, pathways of homelessness and services, the meaning of home, home-based service interactions at various supported housing settings, housing social work, segregation and gentrification, and multidisciplinary and integrated work in complex client cases.

More on the website

Marit Skivenes is a distinguished Professor at the Department of Government and the director of Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism, University of Bergen. Her research focuses on Child Protection Systems, children’s interests and Child Rights, and targets the intersection between children’s interest, paternalism, discretion and decision-making in organizations. Written or co-written 124 books and numerous articles, Skivenes has conducted influential research on child protection and child rights over three decades. She is, together with colleagues, the editor of the Handbook on Child Protection Systems at Oxford University Press. Skivenes headed the commission for the Official Norwegian Report on improved quality and legal protection in child protection (NOU 2023:7 Trygg barndom, Sikker fremtid). She is recognized as a leading expert in the field of child protection systems, and a widely used expert by the media.

Recent publications:

• Skivenes, Marit; Falch-Eriksen, Asgeir; Hassan, Bilal. (2023). Restricting Family Life: An Examination of Citizens’ Views on state interventions and Parental Freedom in Eight European Countries. European Journal of Social Work.
• Berrick, Jill Duerr; Skivenes, Marit; Roscoe, Joseph N. (2023). Public perceptions of child protection, children’s rights, and personal values: An assessment of two states. Children and Youth Services Review.
• Skivenes, Marit; Loen, Mathea. (2023). Legitimate child protection interventions and the dimension of confidence: A comparative analysis of populations views in six European countries. Journal of Social Policy. 1–20.
• Kriz, Katrin; Krutzinna, Jenny; Pösö, Tarja; Skivenes, Marit. (2022). The invisible child. A comparative study of newborn removal judgments from a Child Equality Perspective (cep) . The International Journal of Children’s Rights. 644–674.
• Skivenes, Marit; Benbenishty, Rami. (2022). Securing permanence for children in care: A cross-country analysis of citizen’s view on adoption versus foster care. Child & Family Social Work.

Aila-Leena Matthies works as Professor of Social Work and Head of the Social Sciences Unit at the University of Jyväskylä, Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius. Her research focuses on the ecosocial perspective in social work, and on adult social work. Ecosocial research focuses on transdisciplinary research on sustainability transition and its comprehensive application to social work. Research in adult social work focuses on the impacts and possibilities of different working methods and participatory approaches.

Aila-Leena Matthies leads the MCSA-ETN-ASTRA doctoral training and research project (2020–2024), funded by the European Commission, run in six European countries, with 15 doctoral researchers of social work. The common focus of the research is the application of models produced by transdisciplinary sustainable transition research in social work to improve inclusion work. Aila-Leena Matthies led the VTR-funded AIKUMETOD research (2020–2022) in social work, which focused on the impacts of resource-based client work, financial social work, community- and nature-based methods, and networking methods in migration services.

Aila-Leena Matthies has previously (1996–2007) worked as Professor of Social Work Methods in Magdeburg, Germany. She has been Finland’s representative on the board of the European Association of Schools of Social Work in 2013–2021.

Recent publications:

• Matthies, A-L., Hermans, K. & Leskošek, V. (2022). Applying transdisciplinary sustainability transitions research in international social work doctoral training, Social Work Education, DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2022.2105316
• Matthies, A.-L. (2021). Next-generation modelling of community work and structural social work in Finland. Nordic Social Work Research. doi.org/10.1080/2156857x.2021.1968474
• Matthies, A-L., Svenlin, A-R., Turtiainen, K. (toim.) (2021) Aikuissosiaalityö: tieto, käytäntö ja vaikuttavuus. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.
• Matthies, A‐L, Krings, A. & Stamm, I (2020). Research‐based knowledge about social work and sustainability. Special Issue: International Journal of Social Welfare. International Journal of Social Welfare 29(4).Wiley-Blackwell 29 (4). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14682397/2020/29/4

Kati Närhi is a professor of social work at the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy of the University of Jyväskylä. Her research areas are ecosocial and structural social work. Närhi’s research focuses on sustainability transition, and especially on examining the boundary conditions of ecosocial work and ecosocially sustainable transition in social work practices. In addition, she has studied structural social work both conceptually and empirically, but also as social work practice. Närhi is responsible professor for the nationwide social work specialisation programme in structural social work in Finland.

In 2021–2022, Närhi worked as the PI of the MoRa research project funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (VTR), which investigated the current state and future of structural social work in Finland. The project published the book: The State and Future of Structural Social Work in Finland (SoPhi). Närhi is currently studying the current state and future of social welfare and social work management in Finnish welfare areas in the PURJO research project (2023–2025) funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (VTR) with research groups from the universities of Jyväskylä and Eastern Finland. In addition, Närhi is involved in the ASTRA project led by professor Aila-Leena Matthies (2020–2024), where the doctoral dissertation projects of 15 international researchers focus on the themes of social work and sustainability transition.

Närhi and Matthies have worked together on the themes of ecosocial and structural social work since the 1990s in various projects and have written publications together, for example: Närhi, Kati & Matthies, Aila-Leena (2018) The ecosocial approach in social work as a framework for structural social work. International Social work, 61(4), 490–502.

Her recent publications include:

• Närhi, Kati & Kannasoja, Sirpa & Kokkonen, Tuomo & Rantamäki, Niina & Ruonakangas, Santra (toim.) (2023) Rakenteellisen sosiaalityön tila ja tulevaisuus Suomessa [The status and future of structural social work in Finland], SoPhi 154, University of Jyväskylä. Open access: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9712-0
• Stamm, Ingo, Ranta-Tyrkkö, Satu, Matthies, Aila-Leena & Närhi, Kati (2024) The Ecosocial Paradigm in Social Work. Striving for planetary well-being, In Merja Elo, Jonne Hytönen, Sanna Karkulehto, Teea Kortetmäki, Janne S. Kotiaho, Mikael Puurtinen, & Miikka Salo (eds.) Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Planetary Well-being. Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development. Open access: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003334002