Primary health and mental care: experience and practice in the Health Center School Samuel B. Pessoa

Abstract

This paper presents and analyzes findings from an ethnographic study conducted inside the Health Center School Samuel B. Pessoa, focusing on the relationship between mental health and primary health care. It is divided into
three main sections covering the history of these relations in that institution, current aspects of public health policies related to this area and the practice of supervision for community mental health workers as a privileged space for training and dialogue on the designing of care practices. The study showed that the experience and practices of CSEB, linking mental health and primary care and basic health, preserve the historical memory of this relationship in Sao Paulo, trying at the same time, the new proposals for the area, from a critical perspective.