Obituary: Juhani Hirvas 1933 - 2004

Psychoanalyst and academic Juhani Hirvas died from a sudden illness on June 7^th, 2004, at an age of 71 years. He was born on May 4^th, 1933, in Helsinki, graduated from Heinolan Yhteislyseo (Heinola Secondary School) in 1951, received his fil.kand. (Candidate of Philosophy) from Helsinki University in 1957, his valtiot.lis. (Licentiate of Social Sciences) in 1962, and his valtiot. tri. (Doctor of Social Sciences) in 1966, with a thesis on “Identity and Mental Illness”. He served as a hospital psychologist at the Nikkilä Mental Hospital during the years 1957-1962, and thereafter served as an academic teacher for many years: Lecturer in Psychology at Helsinki University 1963-1977; Senior Lecturer 1968- 1977; Associate Professor at the Institute of Psychology 1973-1976; Senior Lecturer in Medical Psychology from 1977 onwards. He also served as a training analyst in the Finnish Psychoanalytical Association for many years up until his death.

Because of his long experience as a university teacher, Juhani Hirvas became a valuable link between academic clinical teaching and the training of psychoanalysts, coloured by a more down-to-earth approach to the clinical - the latter being the area on which his work focussed during the last 25 years of his life. He was set apart by his verbal giftedness and his humour, his gift for empathy, and his genuine care for those he came to meet. In him, a freedom from illusions was paired in an unusual way with an understanding of human failings - sometimes expressed in the form of self-irony. He was one of the psychoanalytic training seminar leaders who was valued the most, and it was obvious that he enjoyed teaching and being with his students. As a supervisor, he was valued for an unusual combination: a precision in his own thinking coupled with interest in and respect for the views of others. Among foreign writers who played a central role in the development of his thinking were Erik Homburger Erikson (whom he met during his year at Harva