Introducing the FUS Faculty: Heidi Toivonen

Nora McNeely Hurley Assistant Professor, Psychology

Ph.D. University of Jyväskylä, Finland
M.A. University of Eastern Finland
B.A. University of Joensuu, Finland

Office: Lowerre Academic Center, Faculty Office 11
Phone: +41 91 986 36 55
Email: hktoivonen@fus.edu
Personal website: https://www.heiditoivonen.com/

Heidi Toivonen joined Franklin Switzerland in August 2024 as the Nora McNeely Hurley Assistant Professor of Psychology. Prior to her academic career, she worked for ten years as a clinical psychologist in her native country, Finland. She served in various settings from psychiatric hospitals to family counselling, conducting psychological evaluations and talk therapy with a wide variety of clients. She completed her PhD degree at the side of her clinical work and moved away from Finland to fully start her academic career in 2020. She worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Ghent University, Belgium, conducting research on environmental narratives in a team of literary scholars. In 2021, she became Assistant Professor of Psychology in the University of Twente, in the Netherlands. There, she taught clinical psychology, professional self-reflection and autobiography writing, as well as research methods. In 2023, she won the University of Twente Educational Award, being selected as the Teacher of the Year. At Franklin, Heidi Toivonen teaches courses such as First Year Seminar, Developmental Psychology, and Research Methods in Social Sciences. Her research interests include psychotherapy conversations and mental health interventions as well as the role of digital devices and mobile applications in our everyday life. She is also actively studying environmental storytelling, that is, how people experience and discuss stories about the environment and climate change, and what is their potential in helping us deal with environmental destruction both practically and psychologically.

2025-2026 Courses

PSY 202	Developmental Psychology	FALL 2025
This course surveys the major areas of developmental psychology - the science of individual human development. The overall aim is to introduce students to the fundamental questions, ideas and approaches in the psychology of development. The course emphasizes an understanding of the methods, terms, theories and findings in the field, traces human development across the entire lifespan, and explores the basic developmental theories including the biological influences on development, behavior and learning. To complete the study of human development, the course presents a multi-cultural perspective, examining the diversity of human adaptations to change across the lifespan, by cultures around the world.
PSY 214	Positive Psychology and Health	FALL 2025
This course examines and applies the psychological theories, research, and evidence-based interventions designed to optimize health and well-being. By focusing on topics such as creativity, happiness, hope, humor, gratitude, mindfulness, resilience, spirituality, and wisdom, students will explore how human beings can best thrive and reach their full potential. This course will allow for an in-depth examination of how people across various generations and cultures have used their strengths to help themselves grow and their communities flourish - even during difficult times. Overall, students will learn new perspectives on how to live a healthy, meaningful life, and gain strategies to authentically advance the greater good for all humans.
PSY 215	Research Methods in the Social Sciences	FALL 2025
The overall aim of this course is to promote students’ understanding and knowledge of research methodology in the social sciences. The course has three main features: it addresses a wide range of perspectives, comprising both qualitative and quantitative approaches; it provides opportunities to learn and reflect from research practice in various social science fields, including clinical, developmental, social and work psychology; it encompasses both traditional/mainstream and critical research approaches, paying constant attention to real world research. An important part of the course is the “Research Proposal”, which students will draft in stages over the course of the semester. By working on their own research proposal throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to engage in relevant research activity, ‘learning by doing’ in relation to crucial research principles and practices.
PSY 210	Cognitive Psychology	SPRING 2026
This course provides an in-depth exploration of human cognition, focusing on both classic and current issues. In this class, students will discuss how cognitive psychologists build theories (or models) of mental processes, and how these models are used to understand and predict behavior. Topics to be covered include (but may not be limited to): history of cognitive psychology, research methods in cognitive psychology, attention, perception, memory, language, and reasoning. In addition to these subjects, we will examine the research on social cognition, motivation, and emotions.
PSY 314	Clinical and Abnormal Psychology	SPRING 2026
This course examines the treatment of psychological disorders in clinical practice. Students will study the major patterns of abnormal behavior and their description, diagnosis, interpretation, treatment, and prevention. They will explore and practice current evidence-based treatments for individual and group psychotherapy as well as crisis management across diverse populations. Bio-psycho-social as well as spiritual models of care will be discussed with an emphasis on ethical decision-making and effective treatment planning and intervention.
PSY 496	Senior Capstone in Psychology	SPRING 2026
The Senior Capstone in Psychology is a crucial part of the Psychology program. Tailored specifically for senior students, this course provides guidance and practical skills necessary for carrying out a research project. Students will learn the basics of doing original research, sharpening their critical thinking abilities, and improving their academic writing skills. At the end of the course, each student will have successfully completed a research project.

Publications:

Toivonen, H. K., & Gorichanaz, T. (2026). Young adults using apps for alternative spirituality. Psychology of religion and spirituality. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-12450-001

Pol, S. M., Link, V. M., Toivonen, H., Scheepers, F. E., & Drossaert, C. H. (2025). Narrative Interventions for Persons With Mental Disorders Including Personality Disorders: A Mixed‐Methods Systematic Review. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2025(1), 5023850. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/ijcp/5023850

Tönis, K. J., Kraiss, J. T., Toivonen, H. K., Linssen, G. C., & Bohlmeijer, E. T. (2025). Exploring compassion-based positive psychology for cardiac recovery: A mixed methods case study. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 10(3), 53. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41042-025-00247-9

Lelli, F., & Toivonen, H. (2024). A Dataset for Studying the Relationship between Human and Smart Devices. Data, 9(4), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/data9040056

Toivonen, H. (2024). Renegotiating Agency with Climate Fiction: Human Agency in Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior and Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation. interconnections: journal of posthumanism, 3(1), 63-84. https://doi.org/10.26522/posthumanismjournal.v3i1.3974

Toivonen, H., & Howe, C. (2024). “Grump mountain”: viewers’ attributions of agency to a climate fiction film. Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment, 15(1), 120-142. https://doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2024.15.1.4915

Toivonen, H., & Lelli, F. (2024). The varieties of agency in human–smart device relationships: The four agency profiles. Future Internet, 16(3), 90. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030090

Caracciolo, M., Ferebee, K., Lambert, S., Toivonen, H., & Ulstein, G. (2023). Uncertainty and the limits of narrative: An introduction. Frontiers of Narrative Studies, 9(2), 185-189. https://doi.org/10.1515/fns-2023-2013

Caracciolo, M., Ferebee, K.M., Lambert, S., Toivonen, H., & Ulstein, G. (2023). Climate Fiction: A Posthumanist Survey. Interférences litteraires/literaire interferenties, 27(2), 6-21.

Toivonen, H., & Caracciolo, M. (2023). Storytalk and complex constructions of nonhuman agency: an interview-based investigation. Narrative Inquiry, 33(1), 61-90. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.21062.toi

Toivonen, H., & Nikoleris, A. (2023). 'The arrow is never straight': Constructing Climate Change Knowledge in Reading Group Discussions of Flight Behavior and Annihilation. Cahier voor Literatuurwetenschap, 14, 85-98. https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/cc849531-aa6b-4e7a-ab99-d8ed5292dce8

Toivonen, H. (2022). Ei-inhimillisen ympäristön monimutkaiset toimijuudet: Haastattelututkimus ympäristönovelleista. [The Complex Agencies of the Non-Human Environment: An Interview Study on Environmental Short Stories]. Joutsen/Svanen. Kotimaisen kirjallisuudentutkimuksen vuosikirja, [The Swan. Yearbook of Finnish Literary Studies], 98-122. https://doi.org/10.33346/joutsensvanen.113880

Toivonen, H. (2022). Themes of climate change agency: a qualitative study on how people construct agency in relation to climate change. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01111-w

Toivonen, H., & Lelli, F. (2021). Agency in human-smart device relationship: An exploratory study. In Proceedings of the Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS 2021) https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2021/145/

Toivonen, H., Wahlström, J. & Kurri, K. (2020). Constructions of Nonagency in the Clients’ Initial Problem Formulations at the Outset of Psychotherapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 50, 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-019-09417-8

Toivonen, H., Wahlström, J. & Kurri, K. (2019). Constructing nonagency at the beginning of psychotherapy: The 10DT model. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 32(2), 160-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2018.1433088

Toivonen, H., Wahlström, J. & Kurri, K. (2019). Discordances in ascriptions of agency and reflectivity given to clients in the first psychotherapy session. Journal of Constructivist Psychology 32(4), 424-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2018.1515048

Awards:

University of Twente Educational Award 2023 - UT-docent van het jaar 2023/UT teacher of the year 2023