Extension interventions in mental health in the educational context in times of pandemic

experience report

Abstract

The present paper aims to report the experience of the actions carried out by the project “Supporting psychosocial interventions: a dialogical approach in the prevention, identification and promotion of Mental Health for students of public high schools in Cariri” during the pandemic period of COVID 19, a from the link with the itinerant UFCA. The central focus of the actions was the dissemination of information, of a psychosocial and educational nature, as a dialogical tool for the promotion of Mental Health, providing the autonomy and insertion of the actors involved in their home territory. The audience for the actions was composed of students from the three years of public high school at EEMTI Padre José Alves de Macêdo / Icó-CE and EEFM Antônio Mota / Antonina do Norte-CE. This qualitative study used as instruments of data collection participant observation, conversation wheel and the application of an online questionnaire, with a time frame of actions between August and November 2020. Based on the actions developed on the Instagram and Google Meet platforms, it was possible to observe engagement of students contemplated by the action. The discussions were essential for the protagonism and empowerment of the target audience, guiding students in the process of recognizing their difficulties, developing self-perception and critical social performance. Thus, it was observed the importance of including mental health care in school contexts and, mainly, of democratizing the teaching-learning process, in a perspective of comprehensive care. Thus, it is necessary to invest in preventive mental health actions, focusing on the cognitive and emotional aspects of the experiences in the school environment.