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Our Team

Deeply involved with your well-being

Our experienced team of experts in counselling, therapy, mindfulness, health, hospitality, and more are active members of our community. They are deeply committed to the central values and ideals of our mission.

Luís Cunhal

Managing Director

Luís is the Managing Director at New Life Portugal. Born and raised in Seia, he is passionate about his hometown and the surrounding mountains. Luís graduated from the fields of Sports Science, Physical Education, Personal Training, and Hotel Management …

Maria Inês Lourenço

Chief Financial Officer

Maria is the Chief Financial Officer at New Life Portugal. Maria has a background in accounting and taxation and her responsibilities include daily accounting, producing financial reports, and supporting the financial sustainability of the centre …

Liz Slingby

Program Manager

Having previously joined retreats like those at New Life, in addition to running the operational side behind the scenes, Liz has a great appreciation for everything that goes into the experience.

Maria João Cunhal

Care Manager

Maria João is defined by her humanity. Registered Europsy Psychologist in the Clinical and Health Education field, she has been practicing Psychology for 24 years. Graduated from the FPCE of the University of Coimbra in the field of Psychological Assessment, Defectology and Rehabilitation, and Post-Graduate Grade III in Clinical Psychology (Psychological Consultation, Neuropsychology and Psychotherapy.

Simone Da Costa

Counsellor

Simone takes a relational, somatic, and mindful approach to her counselling work at New Life Portugal. She focuses primarily on the areas of relational wounding, low self-worth, core beliefs, career/life direction, and transitions and relationships.

James Harris

Life Coach

In his role as life coach at New Life Portugal, James loves seeing the people he works with arrive at life-changing insights and realisations.

Jules De Vitto

Life Coach and Counsellor

Jules offers a transpersonal, holistic, and integrative approach to coaching and counselling which draws on mindfulness and compassion-focused approaches.

Teresa Ranieri

Mindfulness Teacher

Teresa has been a meditation practitioner since 1988. She has extensive training and experience in mindfulness, and holds a Master’s degree in Teaching Mindfulness-Based Interventions …

Nicola Symons

Wellness Professional

Nicola brings extensive experience in mindfulness, meditation, yoga, art therapy, pilates, reiki, sound bowl therapy, dance therapy, and breathwork to her role as New Life Portugal’s Wellness Professional.

Sue Kioridou

Massage Therapist

Sue was born in Melbourne, Australia to Greek parents. In search of her passion and purpose in life, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she discovered a love for complementary therapies …

Joana Melo

Massage Therapist

Joana specialises in traditional Chinese medicine. Trained at the Portuguese Institute of Naturology in Coimbra, she has extensive experience in acupuncture, auriculotherapy and much more …

Carina Sousa

Massage Therapist

Carina has been a massage therapist since 2016, specialized in Deep Tissue Massage, also known as sports massage. She has been an athlete since she was 5 years old, and so massage therapy and physiotherapy have always been an integral part of her life.

Cristiano Almeida

Guest Services Manager

Cristiano is the New Life Portugal’s Guest Services Manager. Born in Seia and passionate about the Serra da Estrela, his goal has always been to stay in the area and help in its development …

Adriana Monteiro

Guest Services Officer

Born and raised in Gouveia, a small and local city located in the Natural Park of Serra da Estrela. She has a degree, finished in 2018, in Tourism and Leisure taken in Escola Superior deTurismo e Hotelaria located in Seia, another local city

Joāo Paulo Brochado

Guest Services Officer

João is a young man who has been passionate about hospitality and serving well for as long as he can remember. From a very young age he became involved in the area and developed a passion for it.

Ana Figueiras

Senior Farmer

It brings Ana great joy to care for the gardens and the farm at New Life Portugal. Raised in the Alentejo region of Portugal, she graduated with a degree in Agronomy from the Universidade de Évora in 2015 …

Sebastien Parein

Farmer

Sebastien works as Farmer at New Life Portugal. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration and has worked for more than twenty years in the fields of real estate and economics.

Hugo Loureiro

Maintenance

Hugo is a 35 years old man, born in Rio Torto, municipality of Gouveia. Since he was a Little boy, he has always a open mind to adquire knowledge in several different areas, as he says: “I always liked to know a Little bit about everything.” and today he is a maintenance technician at New life Portugal.

Luís Cordeiro

Senior Chef

Luís was born and raised in a traditional Portuguese family in Trás-os-Montes, in the heart of northeastern Portugal. He grew up surrounded by local produce and elaborate, seasonal dishes …