Mental Health Policies for Children and Adolescents in Brazil: The Building of a Psychosocial Care Network Sensitive to the Specificities of Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

This paper presents a historical overview of mental health policies for children and
adolescents in Brazil. We demarcate three periods through which care becomes articulated
with changes in the psychopathological understanding of child and youth mental health
issues. The first period dates back to the early twentieth century and report the first mental
health practices to children and adolescents. The second period begins with the democratic reopening of the country in the 1980s, when the discussion about the specificities of mental health in childhood and adolescence took place, culminating in the construction os a Psychosocial Care Network. In a third moment, we discuss the changes in terms of legal milestones that occurred from 2011, which threaten the achievements made during three decades of elaboration of welfare policies sensitive to the specificities of childhood and adolescence.