Elson Asevedo, MD

Dr. Asevedo is a psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry of the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, where he serves as medical director of the department’s hospital (CAISM – Vila Mariana). Dr. Asevedo received his medical degree from the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro School of Medicine and completed his psychiatry residency and Ph.D. at the Federal University of São Paulo. After working as a psychiatrist for the Brazilian Air Force, Dr. Asevedo participated in the implementation and directed for two years a public program to treat crack cocaine addiction in street populations in São Paulo. He has also studied the relationship between mental disorders and mechanisms of neuroplasticity and the understanding of early developmental trajectories of severe mental illness. In 2020, Dr. Asevedo founded an outpatient medical service for suicide prevention, Conversas de Vida – Centro de Promoção de Esperança e Prevenção de Suicídio.

His main interests are in developing strategies to improve identification, assessment, and care of individuals at risk for suicidal behavior and the implementation of public health policies targeting suicide prevention.