The intersectoral construction of child and adolescent mental health care Networking from the perspective of Psychosocial Care

Abstract

This article stems from the research developed during the Professional Master’s Degree in Teaching in Health at the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA). It aimed to analyse the perceptions of health professionals, educators, and users’ family members on care within the scope of a Psychosocial Care Center for Childhood and Adolescence in Porto Alegre-Brazil. It was a qualitative study with a phenomenological-hermeneutic analytical approach. The population consisted of nine interviews with health providers, education professionals, and family members. The multiple data collection was conducted using a semi-structured interview with five open questions, participant observation, and document analysis. The analysis used the phenomenological analysis flowchart and the complementary theoretical background. The emerging topics were organised according to four categories: a network woven by affections; a network and its nodes; a network of word games; and an (in)visible network. The results point to the weaknesses of internal and institutional relations in the intersectoral work, the presence of stigmatisation of subjects with mental disorders and their family members, the intensity of care from the psychosocial perspective, and the presentation of a territory created from subjectivity.