Jorge Cândido de Assis has been living with schizophrenia for 38 years. He is an Industrial Technician in Electrotechnics, a member of the Schizophrenia Program Team (PROESQ) of the Department of Psychiatry of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), and Guest Professor in the Medicine Course at UNIFESP. He was Vice-President of the Brazilian Association of Relatives, Friends and Patients with Schizophrenia (ABRE) (2009-2020).Cecília Cruz Villares is a mental health practitioner and family therapist from São Paulo, Brazil. She has a background training in Occupational therapy, a master’s degree in Mental Health, and is a certified practitioner and trainer in Open Dialogue by the Institute for Dialogic Practices (NY- USA). As a director at NOOS Institute, she coordinates Training Programs in Dialogic Practices and Open Dialogue in Brazil, Portugal and Spain, and Latin America. She worked at the Department of Psychiatry of São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP) from 1984 to 2017, as a team member at the Schizophrenia Outpatient Team. Since 2000, she has coordinated a project that established strategies and actions ranging from research to education and advocacy aimed at reducing the stigma associated with schizophrenia in Brazil. One of the main accomplishments of this effort has been the launching of a national Schizophrenia Association (ABRE) dedicated to support and empower people with schizophrenia and their family members, and to disseminate information to the professional and lay community.Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan, psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is a Professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and at the King’s College in London, UK. He led the Schizophrenia Program at UNIFESP for 10 years and authored more than four hundred scientific articles some of them focused in ‘hope'. He is the president of Instituto Ame Sua Mente (Love Your Mind Institute), focused on the prevention of mental disorders and advocacy of mental health in schools. In 2016, Rodrigo was awarded with the Legislative Merit Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Brazilian Congress, for his educational work to destigmatize people with mental disorders and ensure their rights.
