Annika Wiik is a Finnish Bachelor of Social Services & Cognitive-Analytic psychotherapist trainee at the University of Helsinki, due to graduate later this year (2026). For the past twenty years, she has worked hands-on in social services, in the fields of child protection and student welfare. Over the course of her career, she has become increasingly interested in how to build connection in challenging interactional situations among individuals, families, groups and communities.

Drawing on the framework of Cognitive-Analytic psychotherapy, her approach is grounded in the understanding that human beings are fundamentally dialogical and relational.

Annika's presentation in ICATA Conference 2026, based on her thesis for her CAT psychotherapy training ("The Good and the Bad Therapist – The Therapist's Capacity as a Condition for Responsiveness in Varying Reciprocal Role Settings of Therapeutic Rupture"), invites reflection on how we as therapists navigate the tension between professional competence and personal vulnerability, and how awareness of our ideal positions might create space for more authentic therapeutic encounters.