Adolescents, mental health and crisis: the story told by relatives

• Main Authors: Lívia Martins Rossi, Maria Fernanda Barboza Cid
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Federal de São Carlos 2019-12-01
• Series: Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional
• Subjects: mental health; adolescent; family
• Online Access: http://www.cadernosdeterapiaocupacional.ufscar.br/index.php/cadernos/article/view/2359/1223

Introduction: Several studies indicate that adolescents are more vulnerable to the development of mental health problems. However, there is a lack of researches on the experience of psychic suffering and attention to mental health for adolescents and their families, including the experience of the mental health crisis. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the understanding of family members of adolescents of a Center for Psychosocial Child and Adolescent Care (CAPSij) about the crisis situations experienced by adolescents and the trajectory covered in the search for care. Method: Five family members of adolescents linked to a CAPSij interviewed gave open interviews based on oral history, whose products were later worked through thematic analysis. Results: The results indicate that the experience of the adolescent crisis causes feelings of fear, perplexity and guilt to the family. However, this experience is also pointed out as a reason for greater bonding between them. There were reports that relate the adolescent’s crisis to the experience of family adversities and, besides, although they indicate the absence of psychiatric hospitalizations in the care process, they reveal difficulties in the exchanges with professionals and services, which could facilitate the understanding of the situation, even though they recognize their support in critical moments as positive. Conclusion: The study contributes presenting the crisis understanding by the voice of the relatives of adolescents, and it also identifies the perceptions of care experience in the services, reinforcing the family importance in the attention to the mental health of adolescents.