The interlocution of mental health with primary care in the city of Vitoria - ES

Abstract

Abstract: So as to contribute to the advancement of the Psychiatric Reform in Brazil, one of the strategies that have been directed by public policies is the proposition of the articulation between primary care services and mental health services. The dialog between these services in the city of Vitoria (Southeastern Brazil) has currently been enabled mainly by Matrix Support. This paper presents the results of a research endeavor aimed at analyzing this ongoing interlocution in the aforementioned city. It was assumed in the study that the achievements of this dialog can positively impact community life and benefit both the professionals' practice and users. This is a qualitative study and data were collected through semi-structured interviews carried out with fourteen health professionals of various categories who worked at a Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS - Psychosocial Care Center) and at a Family Health Unit. Results show that the so-called interlocution takes different forms in the territory, with important dialogs but also great challenges. However, rich possibilities can be envisioned and perceived as indications that we must believe and make investments in the potentiality of the constitution of a substitutive net between the CAPS and primary care services as a way of guaranteeing integrality to users with mental disorders. This articulation was first outlined in Vitoria with the systematization of Matrix Support. The belief in this dialog has brought with it de-institutionalization and the transformation of the production of care in the territory.