The initiative came about from a joint organisation of various entities responsible for providing care in the area of mental health and included two types of activities: the opening of institutions to the community, through guided tours aimed at creating awareness of the work undertaken by each one and to demystify some of the stigmas associated with mental illness and a cycle of conferences dealing with topics which promote an improvement in the quality of life of people with experience in mental illnesses, Centro Paroquial de Bem Estar Social de São José, Instituto S. João de Deus - Casa de Saúde S. Miguel, Casa de Saúde de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo.

The event included two types of activities: the opening of institutions to the community, through guided tours aimed at creating awareness of the work undertaken by each one and to demystify some of the stigmas associated with mental illness and a cycle of conferences dealing with topics which promote an improvement in the quality of life of people with experience in mental illnesses.

Maria da Luz Melo, member of the Board of the Order, presented some proposals related to the intervention in mental health. Namely the implementation of network working between the various institutions which operate in this area; the importance of changing the intervention of multi-disciplinary teams for multi-disciplinary teams; the need to inform/increase awareness of the population in general of the behaviours which characterise mental disturbance and behaviour; the development of family support programmes; the participation of the patient and their families in policies and community mental health intervention and the definition of community adjustment strategies aimed at monitoring the patient and their family over time.