BETWEEN ECHOES AND SILENCES: THE REINVENTION OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF OBSERVING AN INTERNSHIP IN PSYCHOLOGY AND HEALTH CARRIED OUT IN A THERAPEUTIC RESIDENCE

Abstract

The work in question is a narrative about the experience lived during the supervised observation internship in therapeutic residence, with patients with mental disorders institutionalized in Therapeutic Residence, in the Psychology course, in the Mental Health Discipline. This experience took place in the year 2025, in a Private Therapeutic Residence Institution, located in Curitiba, Paraná. During this period, the routine of daily coexistence with female and male psychiatric patients, aged between 18 and 60 years old, was observed, with the objective of highlighting the importance of developing a possible future intervention project, based on the creation of an Active Listening Psychotherapeutic Group, in order to provide a better quality of life to social relationships, notably in the processes of mental illness, notably Schizophrenia (ICD10 F20), as well as providing an environment of comfort and well-being among the residents of the place. The main focus of the work was to encourage the integration of patients, in relation to their own clinical condition and their coexistence with other agents in the place, highlighting their relevance to the academic experience. The objective of this article is to seek to contribute to improving the quality of life of patients undergoing mental health treatment. We planned our methodology so that discussion groups with rich interaction among patients with severe mental disorders could be designed. Five meetings were organized to encourage reflection on different topics. As progressive results, there was better interpersonal interaction along with the denaturalization of beliefs/myths surrounding mental illness, which impede the quality of life of the patients being treated, opening space for a “new” psychological practice. Thus, the intervention project, if implemented, is a rethinking and reinvention of psychological practices. The theoretical foundation was based on concepts related to the work of psychoanalysis (FREUD (1905/1996)); Cognitive Behavioral Theory, as well as teachings by CAYRES ET AL., 2015; GOMES ET AL., 2002; MELO ET AL., 2015; SILVEIRA ET AL., 2011, on the importance of experiences and interactions with the environment for development, with the necessary adaptations for patients with the indicated disorders and diseases. The observations made it possible to predict how the patients played active roles in the activities of the social group and active speech, and what difficulties they faced daily in their routines, resulting from their limitations, in comparison to the population that in general does not undergo such practices. Through the experiences offered, reflections and reports emerged about behaviors and concepts that impact favorably or unfavorably on the cognitive development of these individuals.