Occupational therapy in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic: peer support groups as mental health intervention strategy

ABSTRACT

Brazil has a president who refers to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) as a ‘little flu’. Social inequalities in the country are worsening and the use of telehealth was only increased after the pandemic began.

The aim of this article is to reflect on the use of telehealth in occupational therapy by presenting techniques used in one of the initial phases of online mental health support groups for adults. Occupational therapy staff from a university used online social networks to invite and organise interested people. Virtual meetings took place twice a week by video call and, in addition, informal chat was supported through a Whatsapp group. During the virtual meetings and in the WhatsApp group, people talked about everyday life, life history, difficulty in sleeping, eating, socialising with the same people 24 h a day, childhood trauma, politics and gender violence. People reported improvements in their daily routines, personal relationships and levels of anxiety. This report illustrates the role of occupational therapy in reducing the risk of emotional distress, suffering and mental illness during a global pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational therapy
• mental health
• health emergencies
• support groups
• COVID-19
• telehealth

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.