Having relocated from Michigan in the US in 2006, Dr. Julie Lundgren knows all about moving from one side of the Atlantic to another and all that relocation entails, both personally and professionally. In a series of articles she offers a psychological perspective of the difficulties individuals and couples can face as a result of relocation, as well as tips for coping with the situation.

Dr. Lundgren has a doctorate in clinical psychology and nearly 15 years of experience treating a wide range of psychological difficulties with clients from diverse backgrounds. Her particular specialty is in child and adolescent psychotherapy and parent guidance, and she also offers adult psychotherapy at her private clinic in Göteborg.

Moving from one country to another is possibly one of the biggest changes you can make it life, whether you move from far away, or just "next door". Nothing is as it was before.

Your ability to cope has more to do with your reasons for moving, your support network, expectations and your coping strategies than the differences between Sweden and your country of origin. In any case, it is not something that should be taken too lightly. Hopefully your experience will provide you with challenges that enlighten and enrich you and give you every opportunity to grow.

As Morgan Freeman says as God in the movie Evan Almighty If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

This is your opportunity, let expert Dr Julie Lundgren be your guide.

I couldn’t help but notice the headlines on the paper opposite me the last week as I travelled the subway. If she hadn’t been reading the very article I would have been tempted to ask for a quick look – even in that is not the done thing in this country.

This photo, borrowed from another blog, shows the headline which translates to Cohabitees – get married! It is interesting that the original article in not available on DN, where it was published and there seems to be more talk about how DN don’t usually exhort to telling us what to do privately than the contents of the article.

Nonetheless, I didn’t get to read the original article but reacted anyway to the headlines…. My reaction is on two levels, one to do with the lack of equal status, the other to do with the journalist’s recommendation.

Now if this was a conservative country I would understand that cohabitation was not equal to marriage in the eyes of the law, but it is not. Cohabitation (samboende) has been around and socially accepted for over 40 years. I know couples in their 70s who comfortably lived together, before getting married. These days it is the norm and many NEVER bother to get married, despite not being protected by the law. Some 50% of Scandinavian children are supposedly born to unwed couples.

I see the difference between my friends here and those in Australia and Canada where pretty much anyone who has take the step to buy property and have children together is married. Even if they aren’t they have long been considered equal in the eyes of the law – so much so that the cohabbitee relationship can legally override a will.

The comparison has astounded me for years. A society that accepts cohabitation or common-law marriages but does not protect them legally VS societies where they are not as socially acceptable yet completely protected by the law. Explain that one!

The other thing that astounds me is the constant warnings to couples to get married and there are any number of Swedish articles out there saying the same thing. Isn’t it time that the law changed? Seems to me it’s well overdue!

Maria Crofts in her article in DN gives an example: woman moves into man’s home. They share the mortgage, interest payments and running costs yet if he dies the property is in his name and is left to his children, his parents or his siblings. She has no automatic right to it. If they separate the property is in his name and is his possession.

It’s a scary scenario – especially after 10, 20 or 40 years, especially if she has moved from another country to be with him. She’s suddenly out in the cold. Yet why do Maria Crofts and countless other journalists use their energy telling us to get married? Shouldn’t they be telling the government its time to change the law?

Examples of other articles (Swedish) just this year:
web.vigsel.nu
Dalarnas Tidning
Aftonbladet

More information about the legal implications of cohabitation: The Cohabitees Act

While I read about the latest proposals today (and welcome them) I have unfortunately not had a chance to write and will have to leave you to listen to Radio Sweden's English coverage of the debate.

I've expressed my opinions in the past with these blogpost 1 & blogpost 2 and while I welcome these proposals I am skeptical about whether or not they will ever be used given the competition for students.

The opposition to the proposal is about as predictable as the sun rising in the sky each day (be it behind clouds or in full view) but it is refreshing to hear that the Teachers' Union gives it the thumbs up. Hopefully it will spark a full blown debate about the discipline and disturbance issues faced by both students and pupils.

SvD1, SvD2, DN, The Local

by: David Wiles, freelance journalist

Tired of the same old workday routine? Working nine to five is no longer the standard way to make a living in Sweden. The country has been named in a European Union study as having among the most flexible working hours in Europe, allowing employees to strike a better balance between work and home life.

Early birds can start working as early as 6 am and finish their day at 3 pm in Sweden.
Photo: Hans Bjurling

More than half of Sweden’s public and private sector employers allow their workers a degree of flexibility in when they start and end the working day, allowing them to spend more time with their children, leave early to go to the gym, or just stay in bed longer.

Flexitime (also called flextime) was first introduced to Sweden in the 1960s following pressure from unions, but employers soon came to see the benefits it could bring, such as increased productivity, lower absenteeism and a happier workforce.

Read the rest of the article here.