Research · Publications · Academic Leadership · Global Collaboration

JulioTorales

MD, MSc, PhD

Psychiatrist · Researcher · Professor

I work at the border between psychiatry and the rest of medicine, mostly on what happens to mental health when you look at it through the skin, through public health or through the political context people live in. I am Head of the Medical Psychology Department at the School of Medical Sciences, National University of Asunción, and Professor of Psychiatry at the same institution.

537
scientific articles
27
books
81
book chapters
40
h-index
12,000+
citations
2
Level 2 Researcher, National System of Researchers
Julio Torales
01

Research

Research lines

Five lines of work, fairly connected to one another.

01

Psychodermatology

Disorders at the border between psychiatry and dermatology, such as trichotillomania, skin picking disorder, dermatitis artefacta and body-focused repetitive behaviours.

02

Public mental health

Social and structural determinants of mental disorders, and the design of population-level interventions.

03

Epidemiology and psychopathology

Prevalence, course and clinical characterisation of mental disorders in Paraguayan and Latin American populations.

04

Geopsychiatry

How geopolitical context, conflict and global crises translate into population mental health.

05

Medical education

Medical students' mental health, research training and medical professionalism.

02

Publications

Publications

The most recent ones are here. Below you can see them all, with a search box and a filter by year.

See all 537 publications
03

Books

Books and chapters

27 books and 81 chapters, most written with the department and published by university presses in Paraguay and the region.

Manual de Psicodermatología
2025

Manual de Psicodermatología

Malvido K, Torales J, Vázquez MA

The first Spanish-language handbook devoted entirely to psychodermatology, written for dermatologists and psychiatrists treating patients whose skin and mind cannot be told apart.

Publisher: Ediciones JournalPages: 344ISBN 978-631-90909-8-7
Manual de Lineamientos Generales para la elaboración de Proyectos de Extensión Universitaria
2025

Manual de Lineamientos Generales para la elaboración de Proyectos de Extensión Universitaria

Villalba J, Torales J, Corbeta R, Sanabria G, Bogado A, and others

An institutional guide to designing, running and evaluating university outreach projects in the health sciences.

Publisher: Editorial de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (EFACIM)Pages: 380ISBN 978-99953-67-54-1
Manual de Metodología de la Investigación: una Introducción a la Investigación Científica en Ciencias de la Salud
2024

Manual de Metodología de la Investigación: una Introducción a la Investigación Científica en Ciencias de la Salud

Torales J, Barrios I, Ortiz I, Estigarribia G

A handbook covering the full path, from formulating the research question to writing and publishing the article.

Publisher: Editorial de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (EFACIM)Pages: 333ISBN 978-99953-67-50-3
Guía rápida para el reconocimiento y manejo del Delirium
2023

Guía rápida para el reconocimiento y manejo del Delirium

Brítez Cantero J, Torales J, Ruiz Díaz N, Navarro R, Melgarejo O, and others

A short, operational guide to recognising and treating delirium on the ward, aimed at non-psychiatrist physicians.

Publisher: Editorial de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (EFACIM)Pages: 54ISBN 978-99953-67-49-7
Farmacología en Psiquiatría
2019

Farmacología en Psiquiatría

Torales J, Arce A, Moreno M, Brítez Cantero J, Adorno V, and others

A clinical psychopharmacology reference written by the department, with twenty-three contributing authors.

Publisher: Editorial de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (EFACIM)Pages: 256ISBN 978-99953-67-22-0
Psicodermatología: una actualización diagnóstica y terapéutica de las entidades clínicas más frecuentes
2019

Psicodermatología: una actualización diagnóstica y terapéutica de las entidades clínicas más frecuentes

Torales J, Malatesta E

A review of the most frequent conditions in psychodermatology practice, with diagnostic criteria and treatment schemes.

Publisher: Editorial de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (EFACIM)Pages: 341ISBN 978-99953-67-21-3
See all 27 books and 81 chapters
04

Leadership

Editorial leadership and peer review

Besides publishing, Julio reviews what others write before it comes out and sits on the boards of the journals where that happens.

Editorial boards

  • International Journal of Social Psychiatry
    Associate Editor · 2025-
  • Geopsychiatry
    Editorial Board · 2024-
  • BMC Psychology
    Editorial Board · 2025-
  • Alpha Psychiatry
    Editorial Board · 2024-
  • Global Psychiatry Archives
    Editorial Board · 2021-
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry
    Review Editor, Addictive Disorders · 2019-
  • Frontiers in Neuroscience
    Review Editor, Neurodegeneration · 2019-
  • Frontiers in Health Services
    Review Editor, Mental Health Services · 2019-
  • Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine
    International Advisory Board · 2016-
  • Revista de Salud Pública del Paraguay
    Associate Editor · 2024-
  • Revista del Nacional (Itauguá)
    Scientific Editor · 2022-
  • Anales de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas
    Was Editor-in-Chief in 2015.
    Editorial Board · 2016-
  • Revista Latinoamericana de Psiquiatría
    Editorial Board · 2025-
  • Revista Peruana de Investigación en Salud
    Editorial Board · 2021-
  • Revista Paraguaya de Psiquiatría
    Editor-in-Chief · 2013-2015
  • Brain Sciences
    Special issue «Impact of COVID-19 on the Brain and Cognition».
    Guest Editor · 2023-2024

Peer review

International Journal of Social Psychiatry94, International Review of Psychiatry17, BMJ Open14, The Lancet Regional Health - Americas11, Psychiatry Research Case Reports9, Acta Psychologica8, Journal of Affective Disorders8, Geopsychiatry7, Medicina Clínica y Social7, Psychology Health & Medicine7, Schizophrenia Research7, PLOS One6, BMC Psychiatry5, Frontiers in Psychiatry5, African Health Sciences4, CNS Spectrums4, Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery4, Community Mental Health Journal4

ORCID records 501 verified reviews for 160 journals. These are the ones he has reviewed for most often.

Scientific societies and governance

  • President

    2023-
    Paraguayan Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (APPSIA)

  • President

    2019-
    Paraguayan Academy of Dermatology and Psychiatry (ADEPSI)

  • Chair of the Research Chapter in Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Mental Health

    2021-
    Paraguayan Association of Psychiatrists

  • International Fellow

    2013-
    American Psychiatric Association

  • Honorary Member

    2017-
    World Psychiatric Association

  • Honorary Member

    2024-
    Bolivian Society of Psychiatry

  • Full member of the Psychodermatology Chapter

    2022-
    Ibero-Latin American College of Dermatology (CILAD)
05

Career

I trained as a physician at the National University of Asunción and specialised in Psychiatry there. Then came an MSc in Psychopharmacology at the University of Valencia, another in Medical Education, an MSc in Clinical Dermatology at CEU Cardenal Herrera University, and a PhD at the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana. That mix goes a long way towards explaining why I keep working at the edges of the specialty rather than at its centre.

From 2010 to 2021 I led the Psychodermatology Unit at the School of Medical Sciences, and since 2021 I have been Head of the Medical Psychology Department. Psychodermatology was my main line of work for years and is still what I am best known for abroad. These are the disorders that appear where psychiatry and dermatology meet, such as trichotillomania, skin picking disorder and dermatitis artefacta.

In recent years the focus has moved towards public mental health and geopsychiatry. I study how structural determinants, from a pandemic to a geopolitical tension, turn into concrete diagnoses in the consulting room. I direct the Geopsychiatry Collaborative Centre in Paraguay of the International Institute of Geopsychiatry, and I am Associate Editor of the International Journal of Social Psychiatry.

I am a Level II Researcher of Paraguay's National System of Researchers (CONACYT) and an International Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Languages

Spanish native, English very good, Portuguese very good reading, Guaraní good

Positions

  • Head of the Medical Psychology Department

    2021-
    School of Medical Sciences, National University of Asunción

  • Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology

    2013-
    School of Medical Sciences, National University of Asunción

  • Head of the Psychodermatology Unit

    2010-2021
    School of Medical Sciences, National University of Asunción

  • Head of the Psychometrics and Psychological Measurement Laboratory

    2026-
    School of Medical Sciences, National University of Asunción

  • Director of Communications

    2025-
    School of Medical Sciences, National University of Asunción

  • Director, Geopsychiatry Collaborative Centre in Paraguay

    2025-
    The International Institute of Geopsychiatry

    Also an International Fellow of the institute.

  • Vice-President and President-Elect

    2025-
    Latin American Federation of Psychiatric Associations

    Also Director General of the Latin American Psychiatry Research Network.

  • Executive Secretary of the Research Ethics Committee

    2025-
    National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT)

    Also a member of the national panel of reviewers.

  • General Coordinator of the Medical Research Centre

    2023-
    Universidad Sudamericana

    And general coordinator of the MSc in Mental Health Research.

  • Director of the International Diploma in Psychodermatology

    2025-
    Ibero-Latin American College of Dermatology (CILAD)

    Also directs the international course “Focus 10 in Psychodermatology” since 2023.

Education

  • PhD, Research Projects, Health Research line

    2019-2023
    Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana, México

  • MSc, Clinical Dermatology

    2019-2020
    Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, España

  • MSc, Psychopharmacology

    2014-2016
    Universidad de Valencia, España

  • MSc, Medical Education

    2012-2015
    Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay

    Thesis: Subjective psychological well-being in medical students, through the theory of optimal experience

  • Postgraduate specialisation, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

    2011-2013
    Universidad Nacional de Villarrica del Espíritu Santo, Paraguay

    Thesis: Paediatric trichotillomania: assessment and treatment recommendations

  • Residency, Clinical Psychiatry

    2007-2010
    Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay

  • MD, Doctor of Medicine and Surgery

    2000-2005
    Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay
06

Contact

Get in touch

jtorales@fcmuna.edu.py

Academic enquiries, research collaborations and manuscript review.

Profiles

ORCID0000-0003-3277-7036 Scopus56105565800 Web of ScienceD-1254-2017 Google Scholarprofile CONACYT CVParaguay