During his time in Canada, he worked at Montreal General Hospital, Québec, where he founded the Pychosomatic Unit. He would also become clinical lecturer of psychiatry at McGill University, and Full Professor Psychiatry at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Back in Spain he worked at Clínica Puerta de Hierro in Madrid while still teaching, first as Adjunct Psychiatry Professor Ad Honorem at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid promoting "serial meetings for medical students on psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy of functional disorders. The work culminated in a very well attended CME course on Psychotherapy in the Medically Ill." and then as Dean of Medical Psychiatry and Psychology at Universidad de La Laguna. In 1996 he became Director of Psychiatry at the Fundación Jiménez Díaz in Madrid Fundación Jiménez Díaz and Psychiatry Professor at Universidad Autónoma of Madrid. Starting in 2009, he became Consulting Director of Psychiatry at Fundación Jiménez Díaz. Since 2010, he also directs the Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Investigation Institute in Madrid.
Rivera has written and spoken intensively on Mobbing, psychological abuse in the workplace, and on psychological abuse in general. In 2010, he was invited by Spanish newspaperEl Mundo to answer readers questions in a digital encounter. In 2013 he was invited to speak at the Asociación Contra el Acoso Moral Laboral in Uruguay. Rivera also works as consultant for the Instituto Español de Resilencia dedicated to reducing workplace stress and psychosocial risks derived from it. He's also honorary member of ANABIB, Asociación de Ayuda por Acoso Moral en el Trabajo
Autogenic Analysis
As a disciple of Wolfgang Luthe, he's promoted autogenics in books, papers, and presentations. He also introduced the term Ecpathy, the converse of Empathy.
Awards
In 2008, Rivera received the annual American Psychosomatic Society award for his work in research and education in psychosomatic pathologies.
Publications
Rivera has author about over a dozen books and numerous articles, including: , Espasa, 2007 , Espasa, 2006 , Ades Ediciones, 2003 , Espasa, 2002 , Prous, Barcelona, 1993. Additional links to his publications can be found on .