Chrysoula Iliopoulou

I was born and raised in Amaliada, a small town in southwestern Greece. Despite my teachers’ objections, who predicted a bright future in medicine, I followed my passion for Psychology and completed my studies at Panteion University in Athens, Greece.

My interest soon turned to sexuality, partly because it is one of the few universal human experiences – if you have a body, you have a sexuality – and partly because an almost scandalous silence surrounds it. How can the topic we all have experience and knowledge to share about be so rarely talked about?

• In trying to answer this question, I enrolled in the dual Master’s program in Social Work and Sex Therapy at Widener University in the United States.
• Academically, I worked at the “Interdisciplinary Sexuality Research Collaborative (ISRC)” lab of the Center for Human Sexuality Studies, where I designed and implemented educational programs and interventions for physicians and educators.
• Clinically, I worked at the private clinic “The Center for Growth” in Philadelphia, providing sex therapy to clients with sexual and relational difficulties in individual, couple, and group settings. In 2019, I presented my research on the impact of using a second language on the empowerment of minority sexual identities at the 24th International Congress of the World Association for Sexual Health in Mexico. This was when I realised my passion for interculturality.
• Despite my professors’ predictions for a promising career in the United States, I followed my heart and returned to Greece to start my private practice in 2021. Since then, I have been working clinically with national and international clients, focusing on interracial and intercultural relationships.

My constant career aspiration is to become what I have always needed growing up: a source of accurate, scientific information about sexuality – without judgment or shame, but clear, inclusive, and enthusiastic.