I remember once during my PhD at Zurich University in Switzerland my Professor telling me I would do a post doc at Harvard. At that time I thought, this would be a dream though I was not sure if I could fulfill it. Life went on, I moved to other three different European countries and one day I was introduced to Professor Margarita Alegria by Professor Myron Belfer, also from Harvard Medical School. I remember the first words of Dr. Alegria when I entered CMMHR for the first time this September “congratulations for not having given up such a long bureaucratic process”. It has been now five months that I have been spending five days a week at the CMMHR. And exactly one month before my visa expires I have to confess “I want to stay”. This group of people is amazing. I have lived and worked in six different countries, but believe me: here I felt I was part of them since the first moment. They are an example of an intercultural and interdisciplinary team. And this you can prove in their results. As the first foreign post doctoral fellow in this Center I had the opportunity to be involved in national and international grant proposals, participate in high level research meetings, being co-author in high impact factor papers and being personally and professionally supported by high qualified professionals and human beings. In CMMHR each of them has his or her unique specialty and amazing best capacities which make them an example team and a belief for a better world.

In terms of concrete outcomes of my six months stay at CMMHR I lead a joint grant proposal between Lisbon and Porto Medical Schools and CMMHR which is still being reviewed by the partnership Harvard Medical School-Portugal and I co-authored four papers, one of them being first author: 1) Alegria, M., Goncalves, M. & Carson, N. Disparities in youth behavioral services and Barriers to adequate services. 2) Lapatin, S., Goncalves, M., Nillni, A., Chavez, L. & Alegria, M. Standardizing Disparities Stories: Lessons from the Use of Vignettes in a Study of Mental Health Service Disparities. 3) Mulvaney-Day, N., Goncalves, M., Valdes, J. Li, X. & Alegria, M. Change in patterns of behavioral health care following health reform. 4) Goncalves, M., Cook, B., Mulvaney-Day, N., Alegria, M. Retention in mental health care of Portuguese speaking patients.

During my stay at CMMHR I could confirm my passion for project/program management, international liaison roles and intersystem communication (academia and communities/professionals). If I think about a future I would like to be someone who supervises an international global network related to the mental health care of Portuguese speakers around the globe. This might sound an utopia but I know everything is possible if you work for it and with the right team!

To finalize I would like to emphasize the challenge I have been throwing to this exceptional and strong team: Portuguese is one of the few languages spoken in such widely distributed parts of the world, and is the fifth or sixth most-spoken first language in the world. Portuguese speakers are found in Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and North America. Studying the Portuguese speakers’ mental health (care) is a global opportunity for us!

Thanks,
Marta

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