Joana Carvalho

Joana Carvalho serves as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Aveiro and directs the Sexual Behavior and Health Lab (SexBeHealth). She is an integrated researcher at the William James Center for Research and president of the Portuguese Society of Clinical Sexology, with clinical credentials in psychology, forensic psychology, and sexology from the Portuguese Board of Psychologists.

Her research spans human sexuality with emphases on sexual dysfunction, sexual violence (particularly sexual crimes), sexual compulsivity, and sexuality education. She employs mixed-methods approaches including laboratory-based studies of attentional and emotional processes in sexual response, alongside large-scale intervention projects targeting sexual health promotion and violence prevention across diverse populations.

Current applied work includes multiple randomized clinical trials: PREVENT IT (CBT for sexual interest in children), E-mergir (CBT-Mindfulness for prostate cancer patients), FULLSENSE (sexual dysfunction treatment), and bystander programs (CARE, SUN, MOON) for sexual violence prevention in educational settings. She also leads AmIaware?, addressing AI-generated sexual content risks.

Carvalho contributes to national policy as an expert member of Portugal's Directorate-General of Health task force on Sexuality Education, Rights and Inclusion (ESDI), and maintains active research collaborations across Europe through projects like the PRIORITY study on policing child sexual abuse cases.