Práticas integrativas e complementares grupais e a promoção de saúde mental no presídio feminino.

Abstract

The serious situation of Brazilian penitentiaries is known by all. The problem of overcrowding, the unhealthy and fertile environment for the spread of disease and the lack of conditions that guarantee the minimum human dignity are problems that persist for decades and seem to have no solution. The inmates who enter this space, in addition to dealing with the processes of mortification of the self and depersonalization that are proper to this institution, which requires the standardization of the subjects to better control them, need to deal with a number of other problems that compromise not only their physical health but also their mental health. The situation of women under deprivation of liberty still has even more specific problems, since it has increased considerably in recent years, and many of them, when imprisoned, leave their children under the care of other people and families in a context of vulnerability. Based on the above considerations, the present work, derived from an extension project attach to the extension scholarship program of Universidade Federal de Campina Grande – UFCG, sought to implement groups of integrative and complementary practices in the regional women's Penitentiary of Campina Grande – PB, as a means of promoting the mental health of women deprived of their liberty. It was adopted as theoreticalmethodological conception the participative research through the research and action, with the participation of 15 women in meetings that occurred on a weekly basis. The implementation of practices such as: Story Tent, Theater of the Oppressed, Community Therapy, Circle of Culture and Circular Dances. The main themes women brought to the meetings were: family, religion, lack of trust that permeates relationships within the institution, and coping strategies used to survive the prison. The Integrative and Complementary Practices gave women a space for listening and re-signification of the dilemmas peculiar to the daily life of the prison, enabling the production of health and life and strengthening affective bonds.