Multi-professional residency programs in mental health and occupational therapy

Abstract

Introduction: Multi-professional residencies in mental health are training courses in/for the Sistema Único de Saúde and have the potential to transform practices, in line with the Psychiatric Reform. Occupational therapists have a historical contribution in the field of mental health and there is a scarcity of studies addressing their insertion in this type of training. Objective: To map and analyze the insertion of occupational therapy in multi-professional residency programs in mental health in Brazil. Method: Exploratory documentary study, with emphasis on the descriptive analysis of institutional documents, carried out in two stages: 1) active search for multidisciplinary mental health residency programs and 2) mapping of occupational therapy in mental health residency programs. Results: Occupational therapy is present in 31 multi-professional residency programs in mental health in the country, distributed in twelve states, with 83 places offered in 2020 and 75 in 2021, being the fourth profession with the highest offer of places among the ten identified. Although there is an insufficiency of vacancies compared to other professions, the field of mental health represents the largest offer of vacancies in residences for occupational therapists. Conclusion: Interprofessional training can favor an expansion of other professionals about occupational therapy and there is a need for further studies to understand how these training processes happen in practice.