Abstract

FRANCISCONI BORGES, Roselania  and  BOARINI, Maria Lucia. The Child Mental Hygiene Clinic in BRAZIL. Psychology as a Resource. Univ. Psychol. [online]. 2014, vol.13, n.spe5, pp.1697-1708. ISSN 1657-9267.  https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy13-5.lchm.

The objective of this study was to demonstrate that members of the Brazilian Mental Hygiene League - most of whom were physicians, educators and jurists - contributed to introduce knowledge in psychology to Brazil during the early 20^th century. A bibliographical research study was carried out using historical analysis as theoretical perspective and featuring the Brazilian Mental Hygiene Archives - official publication of the League - as primary source. The aim was to demonstrate that the group found a way to explain individual differences from the instruments of psychology, including psychological tests. The assumptions of psychology were taken as scientific support to transform mental hygiene into a vehicle for mental healing of the population. By opening the Euphrenic Clinic to conduct psycho-hygiene of children, they created openings to insert psychology into the fields of education and health, with the goal of performing mental prophylaxis the population, particularly the children.

Keywords : mental hygiene; hygienism; history of psychology in Brazil.

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