Hi Nia, It's a pleasure to connect with you here on SKOOL ! Allow me to briefly introduce myself—I’m a psychiatrist based in São Paulo, Brazil, and the founder and owner of a large outpatient psychiatric clinic called Instituto de Psiquiatria Paulista. Our clinic is one of the largest of its kind in Brazil, with a team of approximately 100 psychiatrists. Together, we cater to a substantial volume of patients in São Paulo, which, as you may know, is a metropolitan area with nearly 20 million inhabitants in its surroundings. Brazil struggles with significant levels of anxiety and depression, making mental health services incredibly crucial here. Over the years, I’ve taken a great interest in exploring new ideas in psychiatry, especially those related to technology, artificial intelligence, and innovative approaches to patient segmentation and care models. When I joined SKOOL, I was eager to find like-minded individuals and communities centered around psychiatry, which led me to connect with you. On a more personal note, during my academic journey, I had an influential mentor who studied at the University of Calgary in Canada. He completed his postdoc there, focusing on gambling behaviors, and later returned to Brazil to continue his work in psychiatry. I had the privilege of working closely with him for 18 years at a leading university hospital while pursuing my own career in psychiatry. Today, in addition to managing my clinic, I dedicate a few hours each week to my private practice and am always striving to learn and grow professionally. I have plans to potentially pursue a fellowship in the future, ideally in the United States. The Texas area appeals to me personally, and I am currently working toward validating my medical degree in the U.S. (through the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 exams) as part of this longer-term goal. I’m also very hopeful about taking my family along as we explore this new chapter. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to connect with a colleague from Canada. I’m very interested in exchanging ideas and experiences with you, particularly when it comes to education and advancements in psychiatry. I believe we can contribute greatly to each other’s knowledge and the overall growth of our field.

Hello Nia, Thank you again for your kind message and for sharing more details! I don’t personally know Dr. Christian Zeni, but when you mentioned his name, I looked up his background and found out that he was mentored during his master’s or doctoral studies by a very prominent Brazilian psychiatrist, Professor Augusto Rodi, whom I’ve had the privilege of meeting a few times! He’s a highly respected figure in Brazil, and it’s fascinating to see this connection. It would be great if Dr. Zeni might be open to connecting, especially given that he lived in Texas for a while. I’ve visited Texas a few times and have even been considering looking for a fellowship opportunity there, so that shared experience could be a nice starting point for a conversation. I’d really appreciate it if you could ask if he’d be available—it could be such an interesting exchange! As for my own academic journey, I’d also like to share that my master’s advisor was Professor Hermano Tavares. Interestingly, I remember him mentioning having been in Calgary around 2003. I also recall meeting his professor once at a conference here in Brazil. If I’m not mistaken, his mentor had Indian heritage or was originally from India, and he left quite an impression on me—he was such a kind and remarkable person! By the way, I can imagine how challenging it must be to work on your project while in residency, but I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops. It sounds amazing, and I have no doubt it will help me as well. Much of my own challenges these days involve managing my clinic and guiding the medical team—not just in technical education but also in operational processes and introducing them to the care model we strive for. I’m excited to see how your platform might support these types of needs. Thanks once again for your attention and for keeping me updated about everything. Warm regards,Henrique