Rita

Silveira Machado

Family and Couple Therapy
Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist

Cascais | Lisbon

I have been a clinician and trainer for over 25 years at Hospital Santa Maria specialised in individual and family psychotherapies. My motto is to strengthen bonds, collaborating in the processes of adaptation, intervention in crisis, emotional and affective imbalances, in a model of valuing strength and passion. I see the success of the psychotherapy process as an equation that contemplates the intense shared experience of emotions. I also emphasise a long path of leading and supervising training teams and groups.

Who am I

Quem sou

Convinced of the path I wanted to take in the area of Human Sciences, I graduated in Clinical Psychology in 1990 at ISPA.

I have always worked in a hospital context (Paediatrics at Portuguese Oncology Institute Lisbon for 3 years and Psychiatry and Mental Health Service for Children and Adolescents at Hospital de Santa Maria, since 1994), accompanying children and families in the circumstances of serious illness and families in mourning.

The importance of the family in the development and help processes became unquestionable, leading me, first, to the conclusion of a Master's Degree in Sexology and later on to training in Family Therapy at the Portuguese Society for Family Therapy .

Aware of the multiplicity of challenging and complex situations, I tried to carry out other trainings that could help me provide a more differentiated care aimed at who is looking for help. In 2002 I held the 1st Touchpoints Training Course, and in 2004 I obtained the Diploma of the “Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)” by Harvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital, which allowed me to embrace a different intervention model where the values of collaborative therapeutic attitude prevail, with respect for diversity and individual choices.

I recently completed the Couple Therapy training levels at Gottman Method for Couples Therapy , London and “ Externship in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) ” with trainers Kyriaki Polychroni and Giulia Altera.