Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a constant concern with the mental health of the population worldwide. This aspect is particularly concerned in the region of the Vale do Taquari and Rio Pardo, places that have the highest rates of prevalence of suicide in Brazil according to DataSus, the data system of the Unified Health System (SUS).
In this context, the project “Vale a Vida” was developed, a research project that seeks to help people in psychological distress during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

This initiative offers psychiatric and psychotherapeutic teleconsultations to the population of the Vale do Taquari and Rio Pardo. The volunteer will receive, remotely (via cell phone, tablet, or computer), one psychiatric evaluation and four psychotherapy sessions. The volunteer will also receive questionnaires to be answered on the website from the beginning of the project to nine months later.

The attendance are already being carried out by mental health professionals (psychiatrists and psychologists) who were trained for this purpose by the TelePsi Program of the Ministry of Health and the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). The researcher responsible for the project is the professor and coordinator of the PPGCM at Univates, the psychiatrist Flávio Milman Shansis.

The project is called “The use of a technological tool in the diagnostic aid for Covid-19, negative affect disorders and suicidal behavior in the region with the highest suicide rates in Brazil and a clinical trial of brief psychotherapy techniques focused on psychiatric symptoms during pandemic times”. It is linked to Univates' PPGCM, through the Center for Translational Research on Mood and Suicide Disorders (CEPETTHS) and the Vale do Taquari Science and Technology Park (Tecnovates). The project also has a partnership with the University of Santa Cruz do Sul (Unisc) and the State University of Rio Grande do Sul (Uergs). The initiative counts on the participation of the Health Departments of Lajeado and Santa Cruz do Sul and the company Tekann Tecnologia da Informação and Tummi Aplicativos e Desenvolvimento.

For more information, visit the website www.valeavida.com.br. Also available the cell phone with WhatsApp, (51) 99666-9151, and the e-mail valeavida@univates.br.