Hi, I'm Joana,

I specialize in Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology.
I have a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra (FPCEUC), a Master’s Degree in Social and Cultural Psychiatry from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra (FMUC), a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology – specialization in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from the Miguel Torga Higher Institute (ISMT), a specialist in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from the Mário Martins University Foundation (FUMM) and I obtained the European Certificate in Psychotraumatology from the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS).
I have been studying the impact of potentially traumatic events for over ten years, including normal and pathological reactions, risk and protective factors for the development of stress-related psychopathologies and clinical intervention in trauma.
I also investigate the effects of dynamic psychotherapy in the treatment of various psychopathologies, as well as the specificities of this therapeutic approach.
I’m a researcher at the Trauma Observatory of the Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (OT/CES-UC), I’m part of the team at the Center for Stress Resources in a Military Context of the Ministry of National Defense, I represent Portugal on the ESTSS Certification Commission and I’m the coordinator of the V Training Course in Psychotraumatology (OT/CES-UC), a course that gives access to the European Certificate in Psychotraumatology (ESTSS).
I have also taught at FPCEUC, FMUC, OT/CES-UC and ISMT and have been a reviewer for national and international scientific journals.
As a psychotherapist, I work with adolescents and adults with a wide range of symptoms and conflicts.
My therapeutic approach is dynamic.
As a product of psychoanalysis, dynamic psychotherapy considers the whole person and not just their symptoms or current life circumstances.
It is an approach suitable for practically all types of disorders (anxiety, depression, substance abuse, phobias, etc.), but also for people suffering from vague and diffuse anxieties, complexes, frustrations, problems, conflicts, etc., without any diagnosis of psychopathology.