Virva Sankala

Virva Sankala is a physician, specialist in adolescent psychiatry, and licensed psychotherapist (since 2011) with nearly twenty years of experience treating children, adolescents, and adults in both outpatient and intensive care settings. She is the first formally trained RO DBT clinician in Finland, completing the two‑year RO DBT Scholars program as part of her advanced specialization in overcontrol and temperament‑based treatment.

Virva founded Oulun Syömishäiriöklinikka in 2009 to provide research‑based, specialized psychiatric care for eating disorders in Northern Finland. In 2018, she co‑founded Mediferro Oy with her husband and brother, expanding the service into an intensive eating‑disorder treatment clinic with a structured day‑hospital program.

Today, Mediferro is the only clinic in Finland offering RO DBT treatment, and it is also the only private clinic in the country providing more intensive eating‑disorder care through a structured day‑hospital program. Mediferro serves as the home of the Finnish RO‑DKT Institute, which Virva founded to support the development and dissemination of RO DBT in Finland.

Virva’s clinical background includes extensive work across adolescent psychiatry in Northern Finland, including outpatient clinics, family counseling services, adolescent inpatient units, and specialized eating‑disorder programs. She also works part‑time as Assistant Chief Psychiatrist in adolescent psychiatry at the Kainuu Wellbeing Services County, where she contributes to complex case formulation, clinical consultation, and service development.

Alongside her primary training in RO DBT, Virva has completed extensive additional training, including advanced‑level psychotherapy, psychophysical psychotherapy, family‑based eating‑disorder treatment, CBT‑based eating‑disorder interventions, and temperament‑informed approaches. This broader clinical background enhances her assessment and case formulation, while RO DBT remains her main therapeutic model. Virva has taught eating‑disorder psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu and provides clinical supervision to multidisciplinary teams throughout Finland.

Virva is particularly dedicated to supporting individuals whose strong self‑control, internal pressure, and emotional restraint limit wellbeing and interpersonal connection—guiding them toward psychological flexibility, openness, and a more connected way of relating.

Outside of work, Virva spends her time with her family, her dogs, and at her home by the lake, which provides grounding and balance alongside her clinical work.

Contact: Please contact Virva directly for trainings at virva.sankala@mediferro.fi