Emilia Afrange, President of Brazilian Association of Psychotherapy (ABRAP), President of Latin-American Federation of Psychotherapy (FLAPSI), addressed welcome words to the Congress on Mental Health participants.

“As President of the Brazilian Association of Psychotherapy (ABRAP) and President of the Latin American Federation of Psychotherapy (FLAPSI), it was with a great satisfaction that I have received and accepted the invitation to participate in the Organizing Committee of the Congress on Mental Health held in Moscow, Russia, on 7 and 8 October 2016.
I am honored with this distinction and I will do all the reasonable efforts so that my share of contribution enrich the proposal of the event – meet the needs of the 21 century in the issue of Mental Health.
As a proposal of discussion, I believe that a highly related matter to Mental Health, in terms of prevention and primary care, is the psychological support to premature infants and the mother-infant relationship in prematurity.
These themes have followed my performance as a professional psychotherapist, mainly from the data pointed in the study “Prematurity and its possible causes”, promoted by the Secretariat of Health Surveillance, Ministry of Health (SVS/MS) in 2013, which reveals the prevalence of births of premature infants in the level of 11.7% over all deliveries made in Brazil. This percentage places the country at the same level of low-income countries, where the prevalence is 11.8%. In middle income countries, the percentage is 9.4%, according to the report “Born too soon”, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012.
The birth of a child is a moment of great biological, mental and social demand for the parents. Any change in the natural progress of this process deeply affects all the people involved-parents, the child and their relational groups.
The birth of a premature child is, therefore, and commonly, a complicating factor, of rupture of this process, which can generate vital and existential situations outside the normal standards.
Therefore, the strengthening of the psyche instrumentation is fundamental to the people involved, who suffer from human insecurities caused by prematurity in a mental space where uncertainties prevail.
The expertise gained in this theme emanates from the use of psychotherapeutic intervention models that have favored positive results in apprehending the emotions and processing the anxiety-anguish -grief that may be present in the life of all the people involved in the situation of prematurity.
The proposal of attending and monitoring comprises the participation and the involvement of professionals from different areas – doctors, neonatologists, physiotherapists, psychologists, psychotherapists, audiologists, nutritionists, social workers and other professionals who have their performance linked to issues involving the health in general – all gathered around postures and actions that tend to the most appropriate to meet the needs.
I also consider presenting several other actions performed on the constituency of the field of Psychotherapy, as well as the analysis of relevant Case Studies, wishing to promote the enrichment on the topic of prematurity.
Hoping to meet you very soon to begin the work in favor of the success of this important Conference, from now on, I am at your disposal.
I believe that we will benefit from unique opportunities for professional enrichment and fraternal coexistence while we will be together”.

Please visit the Congress’s website to access online registration for the congress program, including detailed information and registration options: www.mental-health-congress.ru/en/