About Me

The Child

I grew up in the forests of Finland: gravel roads, pine trees, and long quiet days. People called me a wild child. And in many ways, I was.

I had a lot of energy, strong emotions, and I reacted quickly to things around me. I got into trouble often and spent a lot of time in the principal’s office being told I needed to behave differently. But most of the time, I didn’t actually understand what I had done wrong.

So I learned something many kids learn early: say the right thing, nod, and move on.

Inside, though, I felt misunderstood.

Looking back now, I can see that I was a very sensitive kid who was picking up on everything around me, but didn’t yet have the tools to handle it.

Today we understand much more about children who struggle with attention, impulsivity, and emotional intensity. Many of them aren’t “problem kids.” They’re overwhelmed kids who haven’t yet learned how to regulate what’s happening inside them.

That was me.

The Years Things Went Off Track

Like many teens who feel misunderstood or out of place, I started looking for ways to escape what I was feeling.

Drugs entered my life early.

What started as a way to cope slowly pulled me deeper into a world of addiction, crime, and chaos. I became addicted to opiates and stayed in that cycle for many years. I lost my health, my direction, and watched friends around me lose their lives.

Somehow, I survived.

But survival alone wasn’t enough.

Eventually I reached a point where I had to face something difficult but important:

I wasn’t broken. I was buried under years of pain, shame, and patterns I didn’t understand.

That realization changed everything.

What Changed

Instead of trying to escape myself, I began learning how to understand what had actually been happening inside me all those years.

I spent years studying trauma, nervous system regulation, psychology, and spiritual traditions that focus on deep inner change. I worked with therapists, mentors, and teachers from different fields and dedicated myself fully to the process of rebuilding from the inside out.

Slowly, things started shifting.

The same intensity that once created chaos in my life became something I could work with instead of fight against.

And over time, I found my way back to myself.

Why Teens Open Up to Me

One thing I noticed when I started working with young people is that many of them soften very quickly.

Not because I have all the answers.

But because they sense that I understand the place they’re in.

When a teenager feels like the adult in front of them actually gets it, not just intellectually but from lived experience, the dynamic changes.

They stop defending themselves as much.

They start being more honest.

And that’s usually where real change begins.

Why I Do This Work

A big part of why I do this work is simple:

When I was a teenager, there were many adults trying to help me. But I didn’t listen to any of them.

Not because they didn’t care. But because I felt like they didn’t truly understand what it was like from the inside.

Today, I try to be the person I needed back then.

Someone who can meet a young person where they actually are, without judgment, pressure, or labels, while also helping them see a way forward.

My Approach

The work I do focuses on what’s underneath the behavior.

Many teens who struggle with aggression, addiction, or constant conflict are dealing with something deeper than what’s visible on the surface.

When we help them understand what’s happening inside them, and give them tools to work with it, change becomes possible.

Not forced change.

Real change.