Department of Forensic Psychiatry of the University of Eastern Finland
Tiihonen Jari
Professor
t. +358 50 3418 363
Räsänen Aija
Secretary
t. +358 295 242 222
Koskela Tarja
Research secretary
t. +358 295 242 220
Niuvanniemi Hospital functions as the Department of Forensic Psychiatry of the University of Eastern Finland, tasked with providing basic, advanced and complementary education in forensic psychiatry and conducting research in health sciences.
Finland’s comprehensive statistical compilation practice provides exceptionally favourable opportunities for forensic psychiatry research. Epidemiological methods make it possible to establish the degree to which mental health disorders are linked with violent or criminal behaviour and also to study real-world effectiveness of treatments by using nation-wide databases. On the basis of the results referred to above, eg. imaging methods can be used to study the changes related to various disorders; these results make it possible to develop specific treatment, for example, through the use of pharmacological methods.
We study risk factors predisposing patients to violent behavior and the impact of the treatment of forensic psychiatric patients in outpatient care on recidivistic offending. The Department is also carrying out clinical studies in pharmacological treatment, and studies on the neurobiology of mental disorders applying several approaches, such as stem cell research.
An average of one forensic psychiatrist graduates from the forensic psychiatry specialist training programme each year.