Adolescents in psychological distress and mental health policy for children and youth

This study is a literature review of published articles about the mental health of adolescents in Brazil, between January 2005 and April 2010. The keywords used in LILACS and SciELO databases were: mental health, adolescents, care, and outcomes of care. Thirty-five articles were analyzed, using the technique of content analysis. Studies show it is essential to recognize that the adolescent suffering psychologically is a subject and that he lives in a subjective context. In this way, the proposals of transformation will not have the necessary reach to the needs and demands of those individuals without an effective articulation between the diverse sectors, health care workers, patients and family. In this debate, there are few publications that discuss the new experiences, the dimension of the clinical act, expanded clinics or the output of the care in the attention to the mental health of these subjects.