Phil. Mag. Lars-Johan Schalin was born in Helsinki on the 21th of March in 1931. He was the oldest of two sons of a military officer family. Schalin died at the age of 87 on July 1st in 2018 due to a long-term cardiovascular disease.
After living a few years at a base of the Finnish Air Force in Immola, the family returned to Helsinki where Lars-Johan completed his secondary education in the Swedish Normal Lyceum. He received the Matriculation Examination Certificate in 1949.
Due to closely observing the importance of emotional adaptation during early years of development, Schalin had great motivation to start his studies of psychology at the University of Helsinki. During his years of study he worked part-time as a psychologist in Nikkilä’s mental hospital where he had the opportunity to converse with the psychodynamically oriented chief physicians Johan Runeberg and Oscar Parland. This experience only further increased Schalin’s interest for psychoanalysis which he had come acquainted with under the tutelage of Olavi Viitamäki.
Encouraged by the example set by pioneers Tapio Nousiainen, Stig Björk, Pentti Ikonen and Veikko Tähkä, Schalin seeked psychoanalytic training abroad, since at the time there were none in Finland. Schalin married in 1953. With his wife Yvonne and daughter Christel they then moved to Switzerland in 1957. Later on the couple welcomed three more children.
In 1960 Schalin returned to Finland as a younger member of the Swiss Society of Psychoanalysis. Shortly after Schalin started his psychoanalytic practice as a colleague to the other pioneers on the field. In Finland psychoanalytic training started in 1963. Along with other psychonalysts who had trained abroad Schalin played an important role as a Supervising and Training Analyst in the newborn society.
During the decades following 1960, Schalin’s contribution to the growth of psychoanalysis in Finland was substantial. For nine years he acted as the chief of the Training Institute in the Finnish Psychoanalytic Society and lead all activities concerning seminars, supervision and the selection process of new candidates.
As the Society developed, many psychiatrists in Finland received psychoanalytic training, and by the end of the century the member count had surpassed 200.
In his many scientific articles and two books, Narsismin kohtaloita (Fates of Narsism, 1986) and Perheiden ihmissuhteet (Human relations in Families, 1991), Schalin wrote in depth about issues related to family relations, being fatherless, narcissism, jealousy, and aging.
Schalin was also very passionate about developing training for psychotherapists in Swedish language.
Initially he worked with Folkhälsan and then went on and continued as the president of Finlands Svenska Psykoterapiföreningen. To date, the Society has trained over 80 psychotherapists, some of whom have specialized in child and adolescent psychotherapy.
Schalin was an inspiring teacher and mentor. He was extremely gifted in combining and enlivening psychoanalytic theories and clinical practice to his audience.
On his spare time Lasse was a caring father. He loved the archipelago and enjoyed spending time at his summer house Hällebo in Sipoo’s Sandholmen. Schalin had a great interest for sailing, history, music and literature and even politics as well as sports. As a young man he also wrote poetry that the family still very much enjoys.
Lasse’s personality was greatly affected by growing up in a very male dominant environment and being surrounded by strong male characters. He was not afraid to make decisions nor to stand behind them.
He was a fearless and responsible leader.
Lasse will be greatly missed by his wife Yvonne and children Christel, Désirée, Camilla and Stefan along with their families.
Mikael Enckell, dearest friend, psychoanalyst and writer.
Désirée Schalin-Sommardal, daughter.