Acompanhantes terapêuticos na Grande Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil: quem são e o que fazem?

Abstract

Therapeutic accompaniment (TA) is a tool that enables expansion and linkage of a mental health care network. The aim was to identify who the therapeutic attendantsare, in the Greater Vitória, Espírito Santo (ES), Brazil, and the characteristics of this practice. Ten partially structured interviews were conducted with professionals who were using or had used TA in public and/or private services. The data obtained were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed that the therapeutic attendantsin the Greater Vitória were mostly female psychology students, with various theoretical approaches, whose training in TA had not be accomplished through a course in this field. TA practices in the Greater Vitória are characterized by little use of accompaniment teams, use of pair work, time flexibility, interventions in the street and friendship.