As part of the work carried out in the project PSYGLOCAL - Psychic suffering and human rights: epistemologies of mental health, politics and activism in psychiatry (Lisbon, Portugal and Salvador, Brazil, c. 1950 - c. 2020), funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Ref. PTDC/FER-HFC/3810/2021), this book explores the relationship between conceptions of human rights and models of knowledge of mental illness and health, articulating global, national, and local perspectives.

The eight chapters address a range of topics: the development of the concept of mental health in the post-war period; the role of the World Health Organisation in psychiatric epidemiology; artistic activism by psychiatric patients; mental health reforms in Portugal (1963-2024); Psychiatric Reform in Bahia, Brazil; the role of documentaries in exposing conditions in psychiatric hospitals; and two case studies on associations – ADEB (Lisbon) and artistic-cultural initiatives in Brazilian Psychiatric Reform.

The work uses diverse methodologies, constructing new critical perspectives on emancipation in mental health.

The presentation of the work will be given by Simone Paulon, Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).