At ISPA-IU, he is the Director of the Community Development undergraduate program and Community Psychology Masters and Doctoral programs. Over the last 25 years he has developed research and practice in the field of Community Psychology, particularly in the domains of community mental health. He was the first President of the European Association of Community Psychology and was the 2011 recipient of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Social Award for his work in developing AEIPS, a community mental health organization in Lisboa that he founded in 1987.