Terttu Arajärvi ( Hanhilammi; 2 June 1922 – 22 January 2014) was a Finnish

paediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their yout ...

, notable as a pioneer and the first professor of

child psychiatry Child and adolescent psychiatry (or pediatric psychiatry) is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial fact ...

in Finland.

Education

Arajärvi graduated from the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

school of medicine in 1944 specialising in

paediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

. She obtained her

licenciate A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. The Licentiate (Pontifical Degree) is a post graduate degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universitie ...

in 1948, and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in medicine and surgery in 1953 with a thesis titled ''Microscopic investigations into the capillaries of newborn, especially premature infants''. However, she failed to secure a paediatrics post at the university, which she herself attributed to being a woman, and consequently decided to retrain in the emerging field of child psychiatry instead.

Career

Arajärvi worked in a broad range of clinical and policy roles in children's healthcare and medicine, as well as in areas of

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biologica ...

advisory and education. She served at the '' Lastenlinna'' children's hospital, part of the

Helsinki University Central Hospital Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH; ; ) is a hospital network in Finland. It is one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It encompasses 17 hospitals in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, and has all major medical specialties represented. The HUCH ...

, for over thirty years from 1954 until 1985, the last 12 of which as its Chief of Medicine. In her later career Arajärvi held a number of senior advisory positions with the government of Finland, and took an active role in many Finnish and international professional bodies, including vice-presidency of the Union of European Paedopsychiatrists (now the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). She published over 60 scientific papers, as well as several academic and popular books in the fields of child health, psychiatry and psychology, and parenting.

Personal life

Terttu Hanhilammi married the lawyer Tauno Arajärvi in 1947, and the couple had four children, the eldest of whom is the professor of law ''emeritus'' Pentti Arajärvi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arajärvi, Terttu Finnish pediatricians Finnish psychiatrists University of Helsinki alumni Academic staff of the University of Helsinki People from Hausjärvi 1922 births 2014 deaths