The spontaneous theatre of everyday life as a therapeutic instrument in the resignification of being a carrier of a mental disorder

Abstract

The spontaneous theater of everyday life is an important tool for mental health care. This study aimed to understand the meaning of being a carrier of a mental disorder and to create possibilities for resignification. To this end, five individuals of a Psychosocial Care Center participated in 12 meetings, during which the technique of Spontaneous Theater of Everyday Life was used; they were filmed and interviewed and the content was transcribed and analyzed qualitatively, from a Symbolic Interactionism approach. Seven categories were created, whose themes were related to the meaning of being a carrier of a mental disorder, and they provided insights into the normative issues and the suffering that results from daily losses. Paths of possibilities, renovation, overcoming and expectations were presented, with the spontaneous theater of everyday life as a facilitator of interaction and expression, which provides a creative construction that searches for solutions for the challenges of everyday life, thus being an important tool in psychosocial rehabilitation.