Markku Siivola, M.D., specialist in general and liaison psychiatry, has practiced both in Finland and Sweden. Siivola began his collaboration in 1980 with Professor Montague Ullman who was an internationally renowned psychiatrist & dream researcher and who developed his Experiential Dream Group Process. Siivola introduced this process to Finland, and has trained dream group leaders with diverse occupational backgrounds around Finland. He has also applied this process as a supervision method both for somatic and psychiatric health care professionals, with profound effect.
Siivola created Ullman's site in 2000 in close collaboration with Ullman, digitizing Ullman's writings to Internet. After Ullman's departure in 2008 he also organized The Ullman Legacy with Varida Kautner; the project is a source site dedicated to Ullman's life with writings from people who appreciate Ullman’s work. These texts in combination with Ullman's own writings constitute the most extensive reference site of Ullman's life work.
In 2003 Siivola co-founded The Dream Group Forum in Finland, which arranges annual dream group training seminars free of charge. He created the websites for both Finnish and Swedish Dream Group Forums. On the latter he was also named an Honorary Member and a certified dream group leader and supervisor.
Cosimo published Siivola’s Understanding Dreams: The Gateway to DreamsWithout Dream Interpretation in 2011. It is an English translation of his bestseller book in Finnish (2008). He translated Ullman's book Working with Dreams to Finnish (1982). His essay on dream work was published in Jyväskylä University Psychology Report Series (1984).