Construindo a participação social junto a usuários de um grupo de apoio: desafios para a qualificação da atenção em um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS)

The literature points out a lack of studies describing practical experiences approaching the role of social participation, even though, the subject Brazilian Health System (SUS) as a principle is valued by theoretical-conceptual works. The lack of studies is especially observed in mental health care services, where the existing studies focus on the users’ management engagement as part of psychosocial rehabilitation. Thus, this article introduces an experience developed in a Center for Psycho-Social Attention (CAPS), in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, aiming to address\udthe issue of social participation in care qualification, in accordance to legislation and technical standards. Thisstudy\udfocused on two types of sources. 1) Internship Final Report of a Psycology Student including 54 sessions of a support\udgroup, 2) technical and legal documents concerning the SUS and the National Mental Health Policy and Humanization. The service aspects were analyzed through technical and legislative foundations - focusing the needs and claims on group discussions, classified as structure and process, used to assess the health care quality. Most concerns were listed on normative Ordinances and Regulations. Achieving social participation was not an institutional premise and, among the main difficulties was the medical/outpatient centered model and the representation of “crazy”/”CAPS users” as incapable. It requires: i) integration of “clinic” and “politics”; ii) intensification of interdisciplinary and\udpsychological care; iii) respect the citizenship of mental health users, and, finally, iv) that the collective participation spaces do not exhaust themselves. Therefore, the collective participation spaces need practical recommendations in order to improve the structures and work processes and meet the users’ needs