Paulo Amarante is one of the founders of the movement that led to the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform, and is a Senior Researcher of the Laboratory of Studies and Research in Mental Health and Psychosocial Care at the Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (LAPS/ENSP/Fiocruz), Brazil. He holds a Master's degree in Social Medicine from the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Brazil; a PhD in Public Health from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Brazil, with an internship at the Center for Studies and Research in Mental Health in Trieste, Italy; and has done a post-doctoral internship at the Department of Mental Health in Imola, Italy. Dr. Amarante is the President of Honor of the Brazilian Association of Mental Health (ABRASME), former Vice-President of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (ABRASCO) and Doctor Honoris causa of the Popular University Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Argentina.