social work and science

My journey has set a high standard for the precision with which I want to work with people.

There is plenty of balancing to do for me in learning to see what is sufficient in everyday life given the limitations of my own resources, and when it is time to truly challenge the structures.

In youth work studies, I’ve learned that sensitivity and strength can complement each other. I’ve practiced leading groups, planning camps, and creating spaces where people feel safe and can see themselves honestly.

Key to preparatory education (Tuva-toiminta, comparable to a 10th grade or preparatory class for 16 to 18-year-olds) is understanding the individual needs of students—how to motivate, encourage, and challenge them appropriately.

This includes setting clear and safe boundaries while showing compassion when students, for instance, don’t want to come to school. Sometimes reflecting back their emotions—saying, “You seem frustrated”—helps students recognize their feelings. I’ve received encouraging feedback for using these approaches.

I’ve also learned how to better engage passive students. Some thrive when given space, working independently, while others need consistent nudging forward. Encouraging students to take initiative, such as independently seeking internships, has been a key part of my learning.

This text is a personal interim report on my journey toward becoming a professional of humanity. It outlines the direction I want to grow in: to harness human attentiveness and inner strength to build spaces where people can grow as human beings – not merely as performers. I write reflectively but also critically, because my experience of the social and educational fields so far has revealed serious shortcomings in how they treat humanity. I raise questions and challenge myself and the reader to look beneath the surface.

For context: I have studied social work, youth work, and educational science, and have earned a teaching qualification, as well as a trainer in emotional skills and body awareness. I also have a background in master’s studies in human-centered technology, which could be summarized with terms like cognitive psychology and service design.

In parallel, I have worked on my own inner world—first in therapy, then within the framework of the Diamond Approach, which provides tools for accessing one’s personal resources of presence.

In my experience, the educational and social systems do support performance, but hardly support presence or actual inner growth. Professionals easily drift into institutionalized roles in which real encounter is pushed aside. Meanwhile, young people are left alone with life’s fundamental questions.

For real change to be possible, we need adults who do their inner work and show up as authentic human beings, not merely as professional roles. We need cultures that support honest self-encounter – where presence, emotional intelligence and inner strength are not the exception but the starting point. This text is an invitation to that work.

Background: Challenges in the Social and Educational Systems

Social work professionals can only support clients to the extent that they have cultivated their own capacity for growth and to the degree that the institutions they work in support. My aim is to start building a contextual foundation for larger discussions on how to nurture inner growth in individuals and communities. What kind of growth environments and communities do we want to build for the future?

People need cultures and environments in which growth at a personal level is possible. To some extent the educational system and, for example, the meeting places offered by youth work can serve as such. I have experienced, however, that youth work systems lack sufficient awareness of the deeper phenomena of humanity, and so almost inevitably end up reproducing the behavioral patterns of earlier generations, negative ones included.

On the other hand, the surrounding culture is so individualistic that the system cannot serve the needs of those who long to meet themselves more deeply. The therapy system is one answer, but as a form focused on individuals it cannot in itself create a culture of healthy connection between people.

Through my own inner work I have come into contact with inner resources that I feel are the key to growth. These resources are in all of us, but for most of us they remain largely unused. Through fairly everyday presence work, however, they can be brought into use in a whole new way. Resources with which I see contact as rather weak throughout the system include the following:

• inner support, self-confidence, trust,
• compassion,
• curiosity and creativity and the ability to let go of the old,
• inner strength, aliveness, and
• clarity of mind and piercing seeing of the truth.

Against this background, it is clear to me that the educational system and social sector are still in their infancy. I am seeking answers on how to bring these critically important tools for human growth into these fields.

Without expanding our connection to humanity’s real capacities, I don’t believe we can progress as individuals or as societies, despite the obvious crises of humanity and our systems. Almaas’s book Spacecruiser Inquiry illustrates these qualities or resources in practical ways.

(I feel it offers a minimal theoretical framework from which to draw direction for further growth. At the same time, the book has a lot of material that is too lofty for wide distribution, and it isn’t quite suited, as it stands, to challenging mainstream culture. Ready, save for the refining.)

This reflection doesn’t draw from any single source but instead seeks to create an initial framework for bigger conversations. It also hints at which cultural currents deserve amplification within the mainstream social work narrative. The target group for this text is intentionally broad and at this point I don’t provide any ready made answers. I hope this text challenges you, the reader, to ask questions—and, if you feel moved, to send those questions to me.

On a more practical level, this is an interim report. After a year of studying youth work, I’m beginning to understand the types of challenges present in the social and educational fields. I’ll also share preliminary thoughts on the kind of reform needed in social systems to help students in these institutions awaken into life and enable schools to truly fulfill their purpose.

Background: My Own Path

See also: Background: What I Learned in Tuva (Preparatory Education)

About ways in which sensitivity and precision in me want to challenge the system

In my social work placements, my sensitivity has shown itself in how I feel compassion for both the workers and the students in the system. Both seem powerless against the structures. What remains to change is oneself.

This text is a space where I allow myself to fully ruminate and also project problems outside myself. Challenges need to be named so they can be addressed. To set a direction, one must allow for even seemingly idealistic critique.

It seems to me that teachers in the educational system often become performers lost in their heads, and system operators. Supporting actual learning and growth as a person takes a backseat. The system molds people into the roles it needs, and this dynamic becomes so normalized that it isn’t even questioned. I don’t blame the teachers—it’s the system that creates this.

The understanding of how to be present as a teacher, both physically and holistically as a human being, has been forgotten on the level of the entire culture. Young people are partially disengaged on a mental level because the teacher’s pedagogical expertise does not guarantee that the teacher is truly alive and present as a person.

Students, too, thus learn to model a rather frozen world of experience. And vice versa. Amongst my class of youth worker students I’ve also seen that there is sometimes confusion about whether hiding oneself is actually seen as a professional advantage.

So it seems teachers themselves seem to have become a bit institutionalized. I suspect there is a direct link between the blind replication of systems created by the baby boomer generation and the mental health crisis in Finland. Professionals seem to be in some sort of a fairy-tale-like slumber.

What the System Lacks: an Understanding of Humanity

While studying pedagogy at university, I experienced what could be described as a spiritual insight—meaning that, based on my personal experience, what was being taught resonated deeply as authentic. What I mean is that, based on my personal experience, what was being taught felt profoundly honest, not just intellectually evaluated.

Educational science or Finnish teachers do not subscribe to hollow behaviorism, the so-called Pavlovian approach. It led to the thought that perhaps academia, in addition to critical scientific evaluation, also harbors a profound love for human growth. Social constructivism and phenomenon-based learning, in my view, quite accurately describe how learning can occur in a healthy way.

In practice, however, professionals often lack the skills, capacity, or conditions to realize these ideals.

The education system lacks in a quite obvious way an understanding of humanity’s deeper dimensions—emotions, embodiment, strength, and the capacity to be honest and upright. Academic thinking doesn’t address these skills; they’re relegated to the domain of spirituality. As a result, the mental-level goals of academic pedagogy often remain unrealized. This choice of the educational system’s culture seems ideological, as at the end of the day the capacities are neutral and profoundly human.

Are Clients Really Met in the Social Sector and the Education System?

I feel that professionals in the social and educational fields possess a great deal of intuition and wisdom, gained through experience, for meeting young people where they are mentally, although this is inevitably influenced by their individual personalities and values. The culture in preparatory education is fundamentally very accepting and gentle, though boundaries are available for those who challenge them.

The biggest challenge, as I see it, is that young people are not necessarily engaged on the rich, multi-dimensional levels of their being, and I suspect that despite the gentleness, there is a great deal of unspoken loneliness and confusion in their experience.

In the outside world, culture is undergoing a transformation, and I see no indication that the older generations—who inevitably make up the staff—even fully grasp the magnitude of this change from the perspective of young people.

I am not entirely convinced that the education system helps students confront the real world or if it mainly prepares them for a construct of the world that the system itself wants to believe in. This tension, as I understand it, is reflected in the undeniable intergenerational inheritance of education, which remains deeply entrenched despite society’s efforts to change it.

During my training, I’ve met young people and helped them recognize their emotions and potential. I feel this work has shown me how much untapped strength exists when people are given the space to be present and use their potential.

Observations on My Own and (Other) Learners’ Experience

The skills of those who focus on more artistic self-expression, or their social richness and vitality, often go unnoticed in a system that prioritizes academic achievements. The link – that real results only emerge once a person gets in touch with their own inner resources and learns to express themselves from them – is rarely seen amidst the daily bustle.

Human growth is slow, of course, so sometimes the situation may be better than it looks at first glance. Teenagers’ withdrawal is often seen as a normal state. I still believe that you can see in every person whether they are alive or not – that is, whether they are genuinely present and experience aliveness.

Especially with young people in Tuva (preparatory education, comparable to a 10th grade), supporting them in finding a zest for life should be the number one focus – since that is typically where self-confidence, the missing motivation to move forward and face challenges, and curiosity are also found.

I did not feel safe bringing out my most authentic self either. It was a new experience for me that the communication culture of the environment did not feel direct enough for me to meet young people from my own strength and heart.

The protective parts of my personality began to suspect that there must be some reason why everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells. Even though there was clearly a need to model aliveness and real presence, I did not feel able to.

I feared that if I brought directness or strength into the room, people would start reacting to this new-feeling phenomenon from their shadows, unconsciously. Staff and young people alike. People are often used to old ways of doing things, and even as these make them rigid, they are familiar and therefore safe.

This gives me plenty of integration work for the coming months: with what attitudes and expectations would it be useful to show up, so that set-ups that seemed stuck could be moved, gently, even a little?

I feel that structural problems in systems often block real growth. Apparent efficiency and rigid rules institutionalize students, leaving no time for processes that would genuinely support their well-being. The processes that would genuinely support their growth as human beings receive far too little attention.

Much would be possible, but the system continues to replicate the old patterns of the culture.

Bringing out potential would require actively dismantling the conditioning built by the system itself. I am not immune to this either—as someone who has spent a long time within the education system, I notice how unconscious patterns and assumptions about what is acceptable and what is not can quickly take hold. The school system has created its own distorting reward system, and it is also the system’s responsibility to dismantle it if the goal is to raise fully developed adults.

How could we find a connection to humanity in youth work?

During my training in a Tuva group, I observed a great deal of untapped potential and, I believe, frustration stemming from the fact that no one truly sees or reflects back what is possible within humanity.

Much could be achieved, but the system continues to replicate the old patterns of culture. The system claims to be based on science, but in practice, it seems to perpetuate an oral tradition of Finnishness, with all its harshness and brilliance.

In my own experience, I have learned from sensitivity and boundaries that there is a reason why I lack a stronger willingness to push people or challenge them in the way that might often be deemed useful within the system’s narrative.

In my personal relationships, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern of bypassing my sensitivity. Teachers and others in the system have often guided me toward institutionalization. They have claimed to “know better,” without truly understanding. Because these people failed to see me — my precision and sensitivity — they ended up pushing me toward dissociation, a blind compliance.

As I’ve grown toward middle age, I’ve come to see that pushiness is more a bias of Finnish culture – a distortion of perspective – than any particularly well-justified choice. It’s understandable that extroverted traits are valued in a world where they often lead to success.

However, this often comes at the cost of labeling normal personality traits as abnormal, with the expectation that one must push through them. A professional’s discernment and, most importantly, awareness of their own conditioning and emotional reactions are critically important here.

On deeper encounter

It seems to me that a certain level of emotional absence on the part of teachers is often considered normal in the social sector. I feel it’s important to say out loud, as a fact, a claim that may sound harsh: in practice, people are being trained to become institutionalized cogs in the system, accepting the conditions in which they operate as a given, with little energy in their daily work to question the true meaningfulness of their actions.

The working world actually needs individuals who can act independently and enjoy their work enough to have the strength to continue. Institutionalization is an emergent property and a result of teachers’ lack of awareness, not a deliberate or intentional goal. As it stands, young people are not given the resources they need to move forward as human beings—beyond the surface level, at least.

In my experience, students are left alone as humans with their actual experience, and begin to hide themselves. It feels like the entire process is a game where teachers sometimes project weakness or one-dimensionality onto the students, and the students, in turn, go along with the game, feeling that this is what is expected of them.

Best moments in my practice period have come when I’ve seen teachers fully immerse themselves in genuine interaction. These moments have reminded me of how much authenticity and courage can open doors and empower students to move forward.

Finding a New Direction

My core message to the system seems to be this: Presence for the group, alive acknowledgment of the group’s atmosphere, and genuine, honest, living interaction are possible! It is possible to create a space where people do not overtly retreat behind the roles of “professionalism” but instead show up authentically and openly as human beings - while simultaneously maintaining adulthood and healthy boundaries. Not only is this possible, but it is also the only thing that genuinely creates the kind of movement within people that embodies the true spirit of social work.

This, however, requires deliberate work in the direction of teachers taking on a much more determined role as adults. By “adult,” I mean a fully embodied, emotional, real human being—not just a hollow story passed down through generations about what it means to be a professional in the education system, endlessly repeating empty patterns. Building the capacity for this kind of presence demands personal, inner work on the part of the teachers. Unfortunately, the system offers little to no support for this.

This is why the work must draw from outside the system. The situation cannot be changed with the same tools that created it.

I have studied within the framework of the Diamond Approach, but it is not the only framework that provides guidance on presence and honest connection with oneself. In my experience, other approaches that aim to connect people with their deeper resources include

• Circling (Authentic Relating/Surrendered Leadership),
• Internal Family Systems,
• Focusing,
• Humanistic Psychology,

and many others.

It speaks volumes about society that excluding only Circling, these approaches are still easiest for modern individuals to view as “therapeutic methods,” rather than as self-evident and essential aspects of everyday life from the perspective of full humanity.

The Path Forward

In the future, I want to combine my sensitivity and strength to create spaces where people can grow. The union of sensitivity and strength can, at its best, produce something that serves society on a profound level.

The challenge I decided to take on through youth work studies a little over a year ago has proven worthwhile. I have gained confidence that sensitivity and strength are complementary elements. At their best, they can together lead to remarkable experiences and capacities in humanity, which can be of great help on a larger scale.

My studies in youth work, practicing group facilitation, and planning camps have given me critical skills to lead initiatives where people come together in a way that truly begins with presence and moves toward genuine well-being and responsibility.

We still have many good, healthy structures in our schools. They are upheld by strong people with a lot of genuine understanding of learning, of activities that suit different groups, and of healthy boundaries.

These strong people would just need to be woken up now. The structures won’t last forever unless the people who are meant to uphold them in the future are given a genuine chance to grow into their own humanity.

One of the challenges within the framework of social work seems to be a rigid system-centeredness. Interaction is constrained by tight timeframes that do not allow for a genuine interest in real, inner movement within individuals. These movements usually occur more slowly and require humane, unhurried presence.

For any new direction to emerge, the focus must shift toward authentic engagement. This demands not only systemic change but also a deep commitment to fostering genuine connection and presence among all involved.

Besides presence, though, what is needed is LIFE. Teachers meeting students as whole human beings, who have other passions than trying to figure out what skills the school system or “working life” imagines they need. Honesty about the fact that the world is changing, and no one really knows.

This is not about beliefs. It is about concrete acts that bring a person face to face with themselves. This mess created by minds can be cleared up, if we want it to be. The methods are fairly everyday and using them takes commitment, but at times they can be earth-shaking too.

I offer emotional skills coaching that guides each person’s humanity toward a more direct, clearer place that owns its strength. Read more and book an introductory session at ollisavolainen.fi.