Postdoctoral researcher Maiju Parviainen started in the project

Maiju Parviainen is a Kone Foundation postdoctoral researcher at the University of Eastern Finland. In the project she examines professional help aimed at separated LGBTIQ+ people. The study she seeks to find out how LGBTIAQ+ people’s breakups are present in relationship experts’ work. Are there specific issues related to LGBTIAQ+ breakups that have arisen in expert’s work? Do the separated LGBTIAQ+ people have particular needs? Are there some specific professional skills needed when working with separated LGBTIAQ+ people (e.g. sensitivity to minority stress)?

In her PhD research, Parviainen studied the interpretations and perceptions that Finnish sexological relationship professionals have regarding sexuality and sex in heterosexual relationships. Sexological relationship work refers to professional guidance, counselling and therapy work that focuses on the sexuality and sex-related problems in the relationship. Dissertation (in Finnish) online: https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/30884.