Community therapy rounds with exposed to asbestos: experience report

Abstract

This study aimed to report the experience of carrying out integrative community therapy circles with people exposed to asbestos. Methodology: This is an experience report of community actions developed from the extension project registered by the State University of Southwest Bahia, with the community of Bonfim do Amianto, in Bom Jesus da Serra – Bahia. It was developed between months of June and July 2022. Three community therapy circles were held, with an average duration of one and a half hours each on. It reached an estimated audience of fifty participants, in total. Paulo Freire's theoretical framework was used to deepen the discussion in this article. In the first round of therapy, a family group brought up the theme of missing and sadness due to the loss of loved peoples. The second and third circles were marked by the feeling of anguish due to the children's illness, with the group highlighting the naturalization of the death/dying process, the search for comfort in religiosity, the search for specialized medical assistance, as overcoming points experienced by the group. the experience of 'being empathetic' and friendship in everyday life and the cultivation of hope for the resolution of different situations. In this scenario, it was possible to observe the presence of anguish due to the loss of health and the death of people in the community, as well as, at the same time, the emergence of overcoming paths based on affectionate community ties and spirituality. Community therapy was experienced as a qualified space for promoting the mental health of this community group.