Psychologist, PhD in Psychotherapy and registered psychotherapist in the United Kingdom (UKCP and BPC), where he lived and worked for 10 years, mostly in NHS psychiatry and personality disorders departments, including an MBT (Mentalization-Based Treatment) service.

Inspired by his visits to Finnish Lapland, northern Norway, and New York, he created the first Open Dialogue project in Portugal. He was Clinical Director of the Romão de Sousa Foundation and Casa de Alba from its inception for 12 years, and is now an external consultant.

João is staff member of the International Network of Living Learning Experiences, member of the “International Collective” and sits on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal “Therapeutic Communities”, from Emerald Publishing and on other mental health related publications.

Trainer, consultant and supervisor in several international groups, he has collaborated with the University of Évora, the Nova University of Lisbon and, more recently, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto.

A professor of psychotherapy in a doctoral program in London, he is the author of Schizophrenia and Common Sense (Springer) and The Neurobiology – Psychotherapy – Pharmacology Intervention Triangle (Vernon Press). His latest book, Slow Psychiatry, was translated into English by Routledge. His personal website is www.joaogpereira.net