“Aquilombada” training in health services: a process of melanization

Abstract

In this text, we present some reflections, analysis, and results of a training process aimed at advancing anti-racist practices within the realm of public mental health policies, through a radicalization of the idea of racial literacy. The text is based on the analysis of thresholds, impasses, and accounts experienced in training situations with health professionals, as part of research conducted within health services in a health territory in the city of São Paulo, supported by the strategy of aquilombamento and the perspective of the intercessor device. These thresholds are presented in the form of analytical situations that summarize the impasses encountered during the literacy experience. Finally, we analyze the evaluations of the aforementioned training conducted by the participants and highlight the necessary advancement of training strategies that must consider structural racism and the creation of spaces for reflection within services to effectively integrate this theme into institutions. Finally, it should be noted that this text stems from a postdoctoral research project conducted in the Graduate Program in Social and Work Psychology at the University of São Paulo (USP), with a scholarship from the Pro-Rectory for Inclusion and Belonging (PRIP) of the same university.