ABSTRACT
This article deals with the neoliberalisation of the Nordic welfare state, and especially how it is occurring via therapeutic policies and practices. We suggest that neoliberal welfare state reform is intensified by therapeutic policies and practices, as they aim at producing resilient citizens who provide for their own needs and constantly develop their competitiveness. By treating social problems as questions of individual deficiencies and improvement via therapeutic policies and practices, the state is constantly divesting its responsibilities towards its citizens. Analysing recent policy reforms in education as well as employment policies and practices in Finland, the article endeavours to show how neoliberal welfare state reform is not only intensified by the therapeutic ethos, but that the state also acts as a powerful instrument of this reform.
