Theater of the oppressed in mental health: social participation with art

This paper is about an experience report of the intervention project: Theater of the Oppressed in mental health care, at a Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS) in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. It describes how this intervention can be an effective tool helping to strengthen social participation. The project was elaborated by a group of residents and preceptors of the Integrated Health Residency, with emphasis on Collective Mental Health of the Public Health School of Ceara. The study used qualitative research. Considering the troublesome context in which mental health policies are implemented, we realized that art can contribute to the making of a more effective and emancipatory mental health care, able to embrace diversity. From this perspective, the Theater of the Oppressed is an important tool for strengthening social participation and to reinvent it, questioning stigmas and ensuring social rights.