Discourses about mental health demands of young offenders serving detention measure in juvenile correctional centers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the discursive conceptions of what is considered mental health demand of young offenders serving detention measure in juvenile correctional centers in Rio de Janeiro. Nine interviews were conducted with the mental health professionals of these centers, and the results were discussed with the support of Fairclough's critical discourse analysis. Four discursive groups were identified: the first shows intertextuality with the psychiatric discourse; the second, with the Psychiatric Reform; the third, with the discourse of social determinants; and the fourth, with institutional discourses about adolescents' misbehavior. It is concluded that the conceptions are different among the professionals, but there is no single predominant discourse. The statements are related and especially linked through the discussion of social determinants. Health professionals and social workers as demand vocalizers are overvalued. Adolescents are barely given the opportunity of directly exposing their needs, and demands are mediated by technicians. We identified conflicts between staff members working in the care flow concerning the misbehavior-associated demands because some referrals are unrelated to mental health issues.