TOMMY HELLSTEN

About the Author

Tommy Hellsten is an author and therapist with more than forty years of experience. In his native Finland, he is often referred to as the country’s national therapist.

His first book, Hippo in the Living Room, introduced the concept of codependency to Finland in 1991, and its sales broke the previous record for a self-help book. The book has been in print ever since, and the most recent edition was published in 2021.

Hellsten’s work is based on psychoanalytical thought, Christianity, and the 12-step program. He regards his training at Hazelden in Minnesota and the Caron Foundation in Pennsylvania as the most significant influences in his professional life.

ABOVE ALL, however, he draws on his own life experience.

“I have been going through an intense process of personal growth, exploring the connection between what I have discovered in my work as a therapist and what the Judeo-Christian tradition has known and taught about humanity for thousands of years,” Hellsten says.

“When I set out on this journey in the late 1970s, I was frustrated with the Christian church and its traditional teachings about life and humanity. I felt that they had given me no help at a time of great personal distress.”

HELLSTEN TURNED inward, abandoning religion. He set out to face his pain, his grief, and everything he had left behind from his childhood.

“On my journey, I began to run into what I had abandoned: spirituality and faith. And now, to my surprise, spirituality resonated with me,” Hellsten explains.

“I gradually understood that when I had sought help from faith in the past, I had actually been running away from myself. I had used faith and spirituality as a refuge, hoping to avoid confronting all the things that I feared within.”

THIS JOURNEY opened his eyes to the enormous richness of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

“Our culture has hidden this richness behind religious dogma and sanctimonious language,” says Hellsten.

“I feel that my mission is to reword this tradition in accessible language, particularly to those who feel resentment of Christian concepts and proclamations.”

AS THE SCOPE of his work has gradually broadened—from codependency and its manifestations in different areas of life to cultural critcism—he has gained a unique perspective and depth of insight on both the individual and our western culture.

“I have tried to express these truths in my own words without distorting the essential message.”

Tommy Hellsten

Born on September 23, 1951 in Loviisa, Finland.

Has written 31 books and coauthored six books. His books have been translated into ten languages and published in 15 different countries.

Graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1982 with a master’s degree in theology. Studied the treatment of addiction at the Caron Foundation and Hazelden in the United States in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Served at a rehabilitation clinic as a senior social worker in 1984–1985 and as the head of a unit in 1985–1991.

Started his own business as a writer, speaker, and therapist in 1991, following the publication of his record-breaking first book, Hippo in the Living Room.

Established a four-year program in 2007 for those in the helping professions on how to meet their clients as fellow human beings rather than as patients. Nearly 80 people have since graduated as therapists from the Tommy Hellsten Institute, which provides the program.

Hosted his own television interview program, Here and Now: Tommy Hellsten, in 2021.

Has three adult children from his first marriage. His oldest son is the program director at the Tommy Hellsten Institute. Lost his second wife of 18 years tragically to blood poisoning in 2017.

Lives in the old timber house district of the idyllic seaside town of Porvoo. Lists sleeping and sailing as his hobbies. Since spending his summers as a child with his beloved grandmother on an island off the western coast of Finland, fosters the archipelago heritage as an important part of his personality.