AVALIAÇÃO PARTICIPATIVA E RECOVERY EM SAÚDE MENTAL: INDICADORES PROCESSUAIS E O RSA-R GESTORES EM UMA PERSPECTIVA FORMATIVA Participatory Evaluation and Recovery in Mental Health: Process Indicators and the RSA-R Administrator/Manager from a Formative Perspective

Abstract

The discussion on mental health evaluation in Brazil has evolved since the incorporation of Guba and Lincoln’s evaluation generations, particularly with the participatory paradigm, which shifts the focus from judgment to collective meaning-making. Between 2005 and 2007, a Brazilian multicenter study (UNICAMP–UFF) introduced the notion of process indicators in evaluation, representing a methodological advance by engaging services, teams, and management in collective reflection. Over a decade later, the INTERFACES research group at UNICAMP carried out the cross-cultural adaptation of the Recovery Self-Assessment (RSA) Administrator/Manager Version, an instrument designed to assess services oriented toward personal recovery. This article connects that trajectory with the pedagogical experience of a short course on mental health evaluation. Results indicate a broadened understanding among participants of the instituting dimension of evaluation and the distinction between process and processual indicators, as well as a deeper connection between evaluative paradigms and recovery-based instruments. It concludes that the course functioned as both an evaluative and formative device, reinforcing participatory evaluation as a space for co-management and critical reflection in mental health practices.