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The Clinic of CHANGE

The Clinic of Change opened its doors in June 2023. It was the first clinic in Portugal to offer a program based on the Awakn Life Sciences (now Solvonis Therapeutics) treatment protocol - a treatment with scientific evidence recognized in Europe and the United States.

Licensing came to an end in June 2025, allowing us to follow our own methodology.

Our team has experience in international clinical contexts, guaranteeing a safe, specialized and up-to-date approach to responding to mental health emergencies, which has allowed us to successfully treat more than 100 cases in two years.

All of the clinic's patients can therefore count on the supervision of our team, made up directly of international experts, including David Nutt (director of the Centre for Psychadelic Research at Imperial College) and Celia Morgan (head of the Psychopharmacology department at the University of Exeter).

Why The Clinic of Change?

For the first time in Portugal, The Clinic of Change is offering a program based on the clinical model developed by Awakn Life Sciences.

Methodology that keeps pace with scientific knowledge in neuroscience and mental health.

Get to know the scientific foundations

A method that combines psychotherapy and psychopharmacology for your safety and comfort.

Treatments that don't just focus on symptoms, but promote change.

Clinical team trained and accompanied by Awakn Life Sciences specialists

Meet our team

All phases of the program are monitored by professionals with extensive experience in mental health.

The Clinical Team

Prof. Dr. Victor Amorim Rodrigues

Clinical Director | Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist

Victor Amorim Rodrigues is a psychiatrist, professor of Psychopathology and Psychotherapy at ISPA and former president of the Portuguese Federation of Psychotherapy.

Dr. Guilherme Bastos Martins

Psychiatrist

Guilherme Bastos Martins is a psychiatrist specializing in addictive behaviors and
addictions.

Dr. Carla Mariz

Clinical Psychologist | Psychotherapy and Neuropsychology

Carla Mariz is a clinical psychologist and has worked with ketamine in the Resistant Depression Unit at Júlio de Matos Hospital.

Dr. Joana Bastos e Silva

Clinical Psychologist| Psychotherapy

Joana Bastos e Silva is a clinical psychologist who works at the Community Mental Health Center (CCSMO) and the Júlio de Matos Hospital.

Prof. Dr. Nuno Torres

Clinical Psychologist|Researcher, PhD

Nuno Torres is a clinical psychologist, researcher and professor at ISPA - Instituto Universitário.

Dr. Magda Carvalho

Clinical Psychologist | Psychotherapy

Magda Carvalho is a Clinical Psychologist at the Division for Intervention in Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (DICAD).

Dr. Lara Pessoa Nunes

Clinical psychologist | Psychotherapy

Lara Pessoa Nunes is a clinical psychologist with a degree in Behavior Therapy and a specialization in Deviant Behavior and Criminal Sciences.

Dr. Lucio Silva

Psychiatrist

Lucio Silva is a psychiatrist with the degree of Specialist in Psychiatry and Mental Health in the Hospital Medical Career.

Dr. Ana Teresa Prata

Psychiatrist | Child Psychiatry

Ana Teresa Prata is a psychiatrist with a Specialist Degree in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Prof. Dr. Suzete Costa

Research Advisor

Suzete Costa is a pharmacist with a Master's degree in Community Health and a PhD in Public Health, specializing in Health Economics.

Dra. Filipa Bastos Gonçalves

Psicóloga | Neuropsicologia

Filipa Bastos Gonçalves é licenciada em Psicologia e mestre em Neuropsicologia Clínica e Experimental. Tem, também, uma Pós-Graduação em Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde.

Dr. Rui Cintra

Clinical Psychologist

Rui Cintra is a clinical psychologist with a degree in Philosophy (FCSH-UNL) and Psychology (ISPA). He has postgraduate degrees in Psychosomatics (ICS-UCP) and Psychiatry (ISC-UCP), with experience in couples and families.

Dr. Inês Marques

Clinical Psychologist

Inês Marques is a clinical psychologist with a master's degree in Psychology from the University of Coimbra, with experience in Liaison Psychology and research in Sleep Psychology and Occupational Health.

Dr. João Reis

Psychiatrist

João Reis is a psychiatrist at Hospital Lusíadas Monsanto; coordinator of the Geriatric Psychiatry service at Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, responsible for the Behavioral Addictions consultation.

Dr. Ana Pinto Carneiro

Anesthesiologist

Ana Pinto Carneiro is an anesthesiologist with a master's degree in Medicine from the Nova Medical School of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, with experience in hospital anesthesiology and pre-hospital emergency at INEM.

Matilde Escada

Junior Psychologist

Matilde Escada is a trainee psychologist with a master's degree in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychopathology from the University of Lisbon.

Dr. Miguel Esteves Carneiro

Psychiatrist

Miguel Esteves Carneiro is a doctor specializing in Psychiatry. He completed his Master's Degree in Medicine at NOVA Medical School in 2016, having specialized in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies, Clinical Sexology and Couple Therapy, among others.

Dr. Magda Carvalho
Clinical Psychologist | Psychotherapy

Professional Card - OPP: 002130

Magda Carvalho has been a Clinical Psychologist since 1999 in the area of addictive behaviors and addictions, focusing on individual psychotherapy and psychological counseling, as well as family/couple and group therapy.

He is trained by Awakn Life Sciences in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.

Since 2008 she has worked as a Clinical Psychologist in the Division of Intervention in Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (DICAD) of the Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (ARSLVT), in the Agualva-Cacém unit.

Between 2001 and 2008, she worked as a clinical psychologist at the Drug Addiction Care Center in Alverca, a partnership project between the IDT, I.P. / Ministry of Health and the Vila Franca de Xira City Council.

She studied clinical psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences in Coimbra and is a specialist in clinical and health psychology and psychotherapy recognized by the Portuguese Psychologists' Association. She is also a full member of the Portuguese Society of Family Therapy.

Dr. Miguel Esteves Carneiro
Psychiatrist

Professional Card - OM: 61770

Miguel Esteves Carneiro is a doctor specializing in Psychiatry. He completed his Master's Degree in Medicine at NOVA Medical School (2010-2016) and did his specialty training at the Arco Ribeirinho Local Health Unit (2018-2022). During his internship, he was responsible for the development and implementation of the Clinical Sexology Consultation, showing a particular interest in various areas of differentiation from an early age. Since March 2023, he has been working as a Psychiatrist at the Institute for Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies, at the Centro de Respostas Integradas de Lisboa Ocidental.

He has worked in the private sector at the Trofa Saúde Group since 2023, where he is responsible for the specialty consultation in Resistant Depression and Pathological Gambling. In addition, he collaborates as a psychiatrist at Kosmicare, in harm reduction projects in recreational contexts, and works as a psychiatrist at the Casa de Alba therapeutic community, among other places. In parallel to his clinical practice, he maintains an activity of scientific sharing, with various presences, publications and presentations at national and international congresses in his field.

In the field of continuing education, we highlight the Advanced Specializations in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies, Clinical Sexology and Couple Therapy (2020-2022). Her training is complemented by courses in areas such as Motivational Interviewing and Psychiatric Management of Borderline Personality Disorder (by the European Psychiatric Association), Advanced Clinical Psychopharmacology (by the University of Minho) and Phenomenological Perspectives in Psychopathology (by the Portuguese Society of Existential Psychotherapy), which give her an integrative and multifaceted therapeutic approach.

Dr. Guilherme Bastos Martins
Psychiatrist

Professional Card - OM: 52447

Guilherme Bastos Martins has been a psychiatrist in a treatment team specializing in addictive behaviours and addictions since 2018, and will take over technical responsibility in 2022.

He is trained by Awakn Life Sciences in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.

He is qualified in Personal Injury Assessment (formerly known as bodily injury) by the Portuguese Medical Association.

He is also an expert appointed to Infarmed's Health Technology Assessment Commission.

She has a Master's degree in Medicine from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and passed her general internship at the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo - Ponta Delgada in 2012.

He underwent specific training in Psychiatry at the Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca between 2013 and 2018 and obtained his Specialist Degree. He is a member of the Specialty College of the Portuguese Medical Association.

He did an internship at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London in 2016 and is currently working at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the Faculty of Sciences in Lisbon.

He is the author and co-author of several scientific papers and publications.

Prof. Dr. Victor Amorim Rodrigues
Clinical Director | Psychiatrist | Psychotherapist

Professional Card - OM: 31127

Victor Amorim Rodrigues is a psychiatrist, with the degrees of Specialist and Consultant in Psychiatry and Mental Health from the Hospital Medical Career, and is a professor of Psychopathology and Psychotherapy at ISPA - Instituto Universitário. He has been trained by Awakn Life Sciences in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.

He trained in Psychiatry at Miguel Bombarda Hospital and was a Visiting Fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Personality Disorders Institute at New York Hospital. He was co-founder and coordinator of the Personality Disorders Therapeutic Program as part of the Miguel Bombarda Hospital's Center for Differentiated Activities. In 2000, he became Director of the Navarro de Paiva Medical-Psychological Institute at the Ministry of Justice. He subsequently worked at the Júlio de Matos Hospital and at the Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

He has extensive psychotherapeutic training: Existential, Psychodynamic and Systemic. In addition to her specialty in Psychiatry, she has a subspecialty in Forensic Psychiatry and two competencies in Addictology and Harm Assessment from the Portuguese Medical Association.

Dr. Carla Mariz
Clinical Psychologist | Psychotherapy and Neuropsychology

Professional Card - OPP: 007521

Carla Mariz is a clinical psychologist who, since 2022, has been conducting ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at the Resistant Depression Unit of the Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa - Hospital Júlio de Matos, where she had been working since 2015 in the Geriatric Psychiatry Service. She has been trained by Awakn Life Sciences in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.

She has a degree in Psychology from ISPA - Instituto Universitário, a post-graduate diploma in Neuropsychological Assessment from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon and a post-graduate diploma from the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London. In addition to internships at the Miguel Bombarda Hospital Psychology Service and the Barreiro Drug Addiction Care Center, she has also worked in the Neuropsychiatry and Dementias and Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy services at the Lisbon Psychiatric Hospital Center.

She did further training at the Portuguese Psychoanalytical Society, having completed an intensive training course in Research in Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, organized by the International Psychoanalytical Association. She has a specialist degree in Clinical and Health Psychology, Neuropsychology and the advanced specialty of Psychotherapy, recognized by the Order of Psychologists.

Dr. Joana Bastos e Silva
Clinical Psychologist | Specialist in Psychotherapy

Professional Card - OPP: 005278

Joana Bastos e Silva is a clinical psychologist who has been working at the Centro Comunitário de Saúde Mental (CCSMO) - Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa since 2015, as well as at the Júlio de Matos Hospital since 2010, having been part of the founding team of the hospital's Rehabilitation Service. She has been trained by Awakn Life Sciences in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.

She did her degree in Clinical Psychology at ISPA - Instituto Universitário. After interning at the Miguel Bombarda Hospital in 2000, she held various positions over the years at the same hospital, namely in the Psychology Service and in the Convalescence and Residents units, having been a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and researcher. She was president of the Miguel Bombarda Association.

She did further training at the Portuguese Psychoanalytical Society, having completed an intensive training course in Research in Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, organized by the International Psychoanalytical Association.

He has a specialty diploma in Clinical and Health Psychology and is a Psychotherapist recognized by the Portuguese Psychologists' Association and attended a training course on ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at the Polaris Insight Centre in San Francisco in 2022.

 

Prof. Dr. Nuno Torres
Clinical Psychologist | Researcher | PhD

Professional Card - OPP: 002644

Nuno Torres is a clinical psychologist, researcher and professor at ISPA - Instituto Universitário. His academic research specializes in the construction of a biopsychosocial model crossed between socio-emotional development and psychoanalysis to understand the evolution of psychopathology, and his current topic of choice is the social development of children. She is trained by Awakn Life Sciences in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.

She did her PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex, in the UK, and her degree in Psychology at ISPA - Instituto Universitário. She also holds the European Certificate in Psychology for the training of trainee counselors, according to the competency model defined by the European Accreditation Committee and EuroPsy.

He has taught Developmental Psychology, Statistics, Research Methods and Psychoanalysis, both in Lisbon and at the University of Essex. He specializes in quantitative analysis and qualitative methods, particularly in the area of in-depth autobiographical interviews. He has worked for the Ministry of Health as a clinical psychologist in the field of community addiction treatment.

Prof. Dr. Suzete Costa
Research Advisor | Pharmacist, MSPH, PhD Executive Director & Senior Research Director Real-World Evidence & Patient-Centered Outcomes at the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare (ISBE) Invited Assistant Professor at FMUL

Professional Card - OF: 9600

Suzete Costa is a pharmacist with a Master's degree in Community Health and a PhD in Public Health, specializing in Health Economics. She is the Executive Director and Senior Research Director at the Institute of Evidence-Based Health (ISBE) and a visiting assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon.

Suzete Costa worked at the National Association of Pharmacies for 20 years: she was director of the Pharmaceutical Services Department, later executive director of the Center for Health Studies and Evaluation, where she led studies on drug policy and the evaluation of health interventions. She was the coordinator and principal investigator of the first real-world trial between pharmacies and primary health care with electronic data sharing in Portugal. She evaluated the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit of this collaborative medication-assisted intervention.

She trained at Kaiser Permanente Colorado with clinical pharmacists in disease management programs. She has worked for the WHO European Region and has collaborated with other international organizations. She co-owns two pharmacies in a family partnership with non-executive roles.

Dr. Lara Pessoa Nunes
Clinical psychologist | Psychotherapy

Professional card - OPP: 002619

Lara Pessoa Nunes is a clinical psychologist with a degree in Behavior Therapy and a specialization in Deviant Behavior and Criminal Sciences. She has been working as a psychologist at CUF - São Domingos de Rana since 2014.

She has a degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Lusófona University and a post-graduate degree in Deviant Behavior and Criminal Sciences from the Faculty of Medicine in Lisbon. She has also completed various additional training courses, namely in Behavior Therapy (Júlio de Matos Hospital), Personality Disorders (Miguel Bombarda Hospital) and, more recently, Professional Stress (Universidade Moderna) and Counseling and Telephone Assistance in Sexual and Reproductive Health (Associação para Planeamento Reprodutiva).
Health (Associação para o Planeamento da Família).

She previously worked as a clinical psychologist at Dr. Teresa Paiva's private practice, at the S. Domingos de Rana Clinic and in the Forensic Psychiatry area of the Miguel Bombarda Hospital. In 2002, she was awarded an honorable mention in the Bial prize for her work "Dreams, Brain and Remembrance in the Blind and Visually Impaired" (co-authored with Dr. Teresa Paiva and Dr. Herlder Bertolo).

Dr. Lucio Silva
Psychiatrist

Professional Card - OM: 61260

Lucio Silva is a psychiatrist, with the degree of Specialist in Psychiatry and Mental Health from the Hospital Medical Career, training in Interpersonal Psychotherapy Level A (Academy of Individual Psychotherapy) and advanced specialization in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy (Portuguese Institute of Psychology and Other Sciences). He works as a psychiatrist in the Almada Treatment Team, specializing in Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies.

He did his undergraduate degree in Medicine at the Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health (2003, Salvador - Brazil), a postgraduate medical degree in psychiatry at the Institute of Medical Research and Teaching (2014, São Paulo - Brazil), has a Master's degree in Medicine recognized by the New University of Lisbon (2016) and completed training as a specialist doctor in Psychiatry at the Local Health Unit of Baixo Alentejo (2018 and 2023).

He is a member of the Psychiatry Specialty College of the Portuguese Medical Association.

He has worked as a psychiatrist at the Núcleo de Saúde de Apoio à Família (Rio de Janeiro - Brazil), as a psychiatrist at the Centro de Assistência Psicossocial da Associação Padre Moreira (São Paulo - Brazil), as an intern at the Centro Hospital do Oeste (Torres Vedras) and as a psychiatrist at the Unidade Local Saúde do Baixo Alentejo (Beja).
Hospitalar do Oeste (Torres Vedras) and as a psychiatry intern at the Unidade Local de Saúde do Baixo Alentejo (Beja).

He did an internship at the Champalimaud Foundation in the Neuropsychiatry unit, where he took part in research projects in the field of psychedelics.

She has clinical experience in General Psychiatry and Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies.

In 2022 and 2023, he collaborated as an expert with the Security Office and the Directorate-General for Health on Preventing and Combating Violence against Health Professionals, as part of the National Program for the Prevention of Violence in the Life Cycle.

She has participated in research projects and presented scientific papers at national and international conferences.

Dr. Ana Teresa Prata
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Cédula Profissional – OM: 53068

Ana Teresa Prata is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with a postgraduate degree in Neurodevelopment in Pediatrics.

She completed her integrated master's degree in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (2011), her general internship at the Setúbal Hospital Center (2012), her complementary internship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Dona Estefânia Hospital of the Lisbon Central Hospital Center (2013-2017) and her postgraduate degree in Neurodevelopment in Pediatrics from the Catholic University. She was president of the National Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Interns (2016-2018).

She is the author of several articles and research papers presented at national and international congresses. She has worked not only with children and adolescents in outpatient clinics, but also in child psychiatry inpatient clinics and child psychiatry emergency departments. She has also worked with transgender children and young people, both in terms of clinical support and family support.

Dra. Filipa Bastos Gonçalves
Psicóloga | Neuropsicologia

Cédula Profissional – OPP: 29172

Filipa Bastos Gonçalves é licenciada em Psicologia pelo ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa e mestre em Neuropsicologia Clínica e Experimental pelas Universidades de Lisboa, Coimbra e Minho. Tem também uma Pós-Graduação em Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde pelo Instituto Português de Psicologia.

Realizou o seu estágio curricular na Fundação Champalimaud, em Lisboa, onde participou em dois projetos de investigação na área da Neuropsicologia e das Neurociências, com maior foco na avaliação cognitiva e de frailty pré-operatória de idosos submetidos a cirurgias oncológicas.

O seu estágio profissional de acesso à Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses foi realizado na Unidade de Neuropsicologia do Serviço de Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde da ULSLO, onde participou nas consultas de avaliação neuropsicológica de adultos com diversas patologias, tais como doenças do movimento, doenças neurodegenerativas, doenças neurovasculares e tumores do SNC. Deu ainda apoio à consulta de reabilitação cognitiva.

Atualmente, continua a trabalhar na Unidade de Neuropsicologia da ULSLO, realizando avaliações neuropsicológicas a adultos com  diversas patologias, com maior foco nas doenças neurodegenerativas, neurovasculares, do movimento e tumores do SNC em contexto de ambulatório, pré e pós-operatório e de internamento. Participa, ainda, em projetos de investigação dentro destas áreas.

Dr. Rui Cintra
Clinical Psychologist

Cédula Profissional – OPP: 20985

Rui Cintra is a clinical psychologist with degrees in Philosophy (FCSH-UNL) and Psychology (ISPA). He has postgraduate degrees in Psychosomatics (ICS-UCP) and Psychiatry (ISC-UCP).

He is a psychoanalytic couple and family psychotherapist with Poiesis - Associação Portuguesa de Psicoterapia Psicanalítica de Casal e Família (Portuguese Association of Psychoanalytic Couple and Family Psychotherapy), and a psychoanalytic psychotherapist with the Associação Portuguesa de Psicanálise Relacional (Portuguese Association of Relational Psychoanalysis).

He was vice-president of Poiesis, where he has been a trainer since 2013.

She collaborates with various public health institutions. She has a private clinical practice in Lisbon where she works with couples, families, adults and adolescents.

Matilde Escada
Junior Psychologist

Cédula Profissional – OPP: 134524

Matilde Escada is a trainee psychologist with a master's degree in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychopathology from the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon, with experience in psychological support for children and adolescents in clinical and community settings.

Dr. Ana Pinto Carneiro
Anesthesiologist

Cédula Profissional – OM: 50789

Dr. Ana Pinto Carneiro is an anesthesiologist with a master's degree in medicine from the Nova Medical School of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

She is a member of the team at Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central as an Anesthesiologist and also works as a Pre-Hospital Emergency Doctor at INEM.

His clinical practice combines hospital experience with emergency intervention, ensuring specialized care in critical and complex situations.

Dr. João Reis
Psychiatrist

Cédula Profissional – OM: 48331

João Reis is a psychiatrist at Hospital Lusíadas Monsanto; coordinator of the Geriatric Psychiatry service at Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, responsible for the Behavioral Addictions consultation: Visiting assistant at the University Clinic of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at FMUL.

Graduated in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon (2008).

Specialist in Psychiatry at Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, EPE (2015).

Professor of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine in Lisbon since 2011.

Hospital Assistant in Psychiatry at the Lisbon Psychiatric Hospital Center (CHPL).

Coordinator of the Geriatric Psychiatry Service at CHPL.

Responsible for the Behavioral Addictions Consultation at CHPL.

Dr. Inês Marques
Clinical Psychologist

Cédula Profissional – OPP: 29316

Inês Marques is a Clinical and Health Psychologist with a master's degree in Psychology from the University of Coimbra, with a subspecialization in Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions.

She did internships at the ULSC Sleep Medicine Center and at the ULSLO Psychology Service.

She currently works at ULSLO, with experience in Liaison Psychology, helping adults with difficulties in adapting to medical diagnoses and treatments.

He is also dedicated to research, with publications in the areas of Sleep Psychology and Occupational Health.