Intersectoriality and care in mental health: experiences of psychosocial care centers for children and adolescents (CAPSIJ) in Brazil’s Southeastern region

Abstract

The study aimed to identify how intersectoral work has been produced in Psychosocial Care Centers for Children and Adolescents (CAPSij) in Brazil’s southeast region, seeking to understand how the contacts with the network are processed, as well as the strengths nd weaknesses of intersectoral articulations in the perspective of service managers. This study is a survey research, guided by the triangulation of methods for results analysis, which in the first stage regards the analysis for situational diagnostic; CAPSij participated. The results indicated that Primary Care, Social Assistance and Education are the main services/sectors involved in care situations for children and adolescents assisted by the CAPSij. Co-responsibility, as one of the benefits of intersectoral work, was asserted as a strategy for expanded health production and network qualification. On challenges, the participants point out the lack of alignment in common care projects, life medicalization and pathologization discourses in educational institutions, and the difficulty of articulating demands related to Primary Care. Finally, intersectoriality is discussed as the central axis in Mental Health actions, allowing local resources and devices to be strengthened for care practices and assurance of rights.