Voces y Trayectorias is an online series of public conversations with people who have played a meaningful role in shaping, implementing, or reflecting on processes of psychiatric deinstitutionalisation (DI) in different parts of the world, with an emphasis on Brazil, Chile and the rest of South America.

About the speakers

Dr Mauricio Gómez Chamorro

Dr Mauricio Gómez Chamorro is a psychiatrist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Southern Mental Health at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile. His career combines clinical leadership and public mental health policy work, with a sustained focus on psychiatric reform, human rights, and the development of community-based models of care.

He served as Director of El Peral Psychiatric Hospital, where he led the process of deinstitutionalisation and the hospital’s transformation towards integration into the Mental Health Services Network. He later became Head of the Psychiatry Service at San Luis de Buin Hospital, where he developed community-based care at the territorial level. Subsequently, he served as Head of the Department of Mental Health at Chile’s Ministry of Health (MINSAL), playing an active role in the design and implementation of national mental health policies and regulations.

He currently combines work in community-based clinical practice with advisory roles within the Ministry of Health’s Department of Mental Health, focusing on regulatory frameworks, human rights, and mental health legislation.

In the academic sphere, he has contributed as a lecturer in postgraduate programmes at the University of Chile, teaching courses on psychiatric reform, human rights, and mental health policy, planning, and community psychiatry. He has also served on multiple occasions as a temporary consultant to the Pan American Health Organization.

Dr Sebastián Prieto

Dr Sebastián Prieto is a psychiatrist with over 21 years of experience in Chile’s public health system, combining long-term clinical work with leadership roles in mental health services and public policy.

He has worked extensively in psychiatric inpatient and community settings, and has been closely involved in developing models of care that strengthen links between hospital services and community-based mental health care. His experience contributed to national guidelines on psychiatric hospitalisation and later informed policy discussions on psychiatric deinstitutionalisation in Chile.

From 2019 to 2024, he served as Head of the Mental Health Department at the Coquimbo Health Service, where he coordinated the local implementation of Chile’s National Mental Health Plan. Since 2024, he has served as Deputy Director of Healthcare Management at the Coquimbo Health Service

He is also a founding member and former president of the Chilean Society of Community Mental Health (SOSAMCHI), an organization that has played an important role in public, technical, and policy debates on mental health in Chile, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who should attend?

Researchers, students, policymakers, health professionals, practitioners, activists, and anyone interested in mental health reform, psychiatric deinstitutionalisation, and human rights.

Please note: The live event will be conducted in Spanish. The Zoom session will include English and Portuguese subtitles.