Lara Vesentini

Lara Vesentini is a Doctor-assistant in the Health Sciences Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Group at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Brussels, Belgium. With over two decades of academic contribution, she has produced 69 research outputs including articles, commissioned reports, chapters, and theses, demonstrating sustained scholarly activity from 1999 through 2025.

Dr. Vesentini's research expertise focuses primarily on intimacy and sexuality within the psychotherapeutic relationship, encompassing sexual harassment, boundary issues, taboos, and ethics. Additional interests include epidemiological studies and mixed methods research in public mental health. Her work forms a distinctive fingerprint across disciplines including Psychotherapy (80%), Emotions (75%), Mental Health (46%), and Taboo topics (41%).

Her recent scholarly output demonstrates growing impact, with publication rates increasing from 1-10 papers annually (2002-2015) to 6-9 papers per year (2021-2023), indicating heightened research productivity in recent years. These works span diverse methodologies including quantitative studies, qualitative analyses, and mixed-methods approaches, with particular emphasis on boundary violations in mental healthcare, sexual health discussions among patients with chronic conditions, and policy development for academic work environments.

Among her professional recognitions:

• Best Presentation Award (2018)

Dr. Vesentini actively supervises academic work, having guided multiple theses including doctoral research on "Intimacy and sexuality in the psychotherapeutic relationship" (2021) and master's theses on topics ranging from sexual boundary violations in Flemish mental health care to the experiences of single parents. She participates extensively in academic service through committee work, conference presentations (62 recorded activities), and public engagement initiatives focused on mental health policy.

Her collaborative work extends across multiple research domains, particularly evident in projects like DIAMENT (addressing psychosocial needs of diabetes patients) and studies examining transgressive behavior in academic contexts. These initiatives reflect her commitment to translating research into practical healthcare improvements and policy development.