This paper is the result from an exploratory study developed between the second half of 2008 and 2009, whose goal consisted in analyzing the school demand referred, accepted and assisted by the Center for Psychosocial Care of Children and Adolescents - CAPSi - in a town in Paraná. As a methodological resource, we adopted a field research, conducted in three subsequent stages. The first stage consisted of a statistical assessment of all medical records from the users assisted at the CAPSi between July and December 2008. Next, from the medical records examined in the first stage, we studied six cases of children involving school complaints. The third and final phase consisted of interviews with five workers at the center. The results pointed the attendance of a significant number of cases involving school complaints that were generally treated via medication. Such scenario is supported by the work dynamics, which revealed difficulties in developing an intersectoral work. The decisions pertaining to the service of this CAPSi are usually headed by the doctor, without questionings from the other team members, what demonstrates how naturalized and how far this practice is from the principles advocated by the National Policy on Mental Health.
Mental health; Mental health services; Learning disabilities; Education; Medicalization; Psychosocial Care Center
