BODY PRACTICES AND PARTICIPATION IN PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE: AN EXPERIENCE REPORT IN A CAPS II

Abstract

Psychosocial care requires practices that recognize service users in their entirety and broaden opportunities for social interaction, expression, and participation. In this context, body practices may contribute to care when they are guided by individual possibilities rather than homogeneous performance standards. This article aims to report and analyze an experience involving recreational body practices conducted by a Physical Education resident in a Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS II) in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. This descriptive-reflective experience report concerns an activity carried out on July 15, 2026, during the event “Caring through Play, Playing through Care.” Approximately 25 adult service users and members of the multidisciplinary team participated. The 70-minute intervention included reception, a music-based warm-up with body commands, a recreational circuit, an adapted dodgeball game, cool-down, and a conversation circle. The reflective reconstruction was organized into three analytical axes: adaptation and possible participation; welcoming initial resistance; and multidisciplinary work and in-service education. Group heterogeneity required simplified rules, flexible movements, and different forms of task execution. Initial resistance among some participants gradually gave way to greater involvement, supported by dialogue, encouragement, and assistance from staff members and peers. The final conversation circle made it possible to receive spontaneous impressions and identify interest in future activities. Although a single experience cannot demonstrate clinical or therapeutic effects, it showed that flexible body practices can create opportunities for participation, social interaction, and expression in everyday psychosocial care.