José Oliveira Pinto (1988) was born in Vila Real, Portugal. Clinical and Health Psychologist and writer, he develops his work at the intersection of psychology, writing and community, with attention to listening, relationships and life contexts as factors in well-being and change.
He began his clinical practice in 2017, creating the first Psychology Support Service at Escola Portuguesa do Mindelo, Cape Verde, thereby beginning a path of work with children, adolescents, adults and older people in school, clinical and community settings.
He completed master’s degrees in Clinical and Health Psychology (University of Beira Interior) and in Culture and Communication (University of Lisbon) and obtained certification as Well-being Manager. He has also completed training in neurodivergence, trauma and anxiety, art therapy, creative writing and drama games, among other areas, which inform an integrative clinical practice.
José completed an internship at Clinical Psychology Consultation of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service of ULS da Cova da Beira and at Beira Serra – Associação de Desenvolvimento Local, and later completed his professional internship at CASA – Centro Avançado de Sexualidades e Afectos, becoming a full member of Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses.
Throughout his career, has worked in hospital, school, clinical and community settings in Portugal as well as in Cape Verde, developing a practice centered on each person’s uniqueness and on the influence of social and cultural contexts on human experience.
A parallel path as writer began in 2015 with the publication of the book Humanus. Since then, his texts have been published in journals in countries such as Brazil, Cape Verde, Galicia and Portugal. His books include Chá para o nevoeiro (2021), Pôr os olhos no caminho (2021), and Ato espontâneo (2026). He translated Instruções dentro by Ashraf Fayadh (forthcoming).
His academic output is connected to projects he created or collaborated on. Among other published essays and articles, examples include “Um país para a língua: a partir do projeto txon-poesia”, published in Mester (United States of America), “The tireless stream of alterity: cognitive-emotional power of mediatized poetry performance”, published in the European Review of Artistic Studies (Portugal), and “Bullying genérico e homofóbico no contexto escolar”, published in Psychology, Community & Health.
He created txon-poesia, an initiative dedicated to promoting poetry, artistic creation and community participation, as a space for expression, dialogue and listening to socially underrepresented voices.
His clinical practice is grounded in listening and collaboration, with the aim of supporting each person in developing their own resources that is, self-knowledge and assertiveness in the face of everyday challenges—thereby improving their quality of life.
Ler biografia em português
Entrevista
Por Ramiro Torres na Palavra Comum (Galiza, 2017)
What poetry means for us right now
Conversation hosted by Karen Barton in Geographies of Hope (USA, 2026)
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José Oliveira Pinto 