Mental Health Conversation Circles with Adolescents After the Covid-19 Pandemic; Conversaciones Sobre Salud Mental Con Adolescentes Durante la Pandemia de Covid-19

OBJECTIVE. To understand the contributions of conversation circles as a mental health care strategy for adolescents during the return to face-to-face classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD. Descriptive study with a qualitative approach, conducted from June to August 2023, in a public high school, located in the municipality of Redenção, in the interior of the state of Ceará, Brazil. The participants were 27 students from a 1st year class and 23 from the 3rd year of high school. There were six meetings in each class, and the conversation circles lasted 1 hour in each meeting. The data collection instrument contained two parts: 1) objective questions about sociodemographic aspects and 2) six subjective questions about the return to school and the conversation circles. The data were analyzed using the Epi Info™ program and the IraMuteq® software. The research received ethical approval (6.124.101/2023). RESULTS. 50 students participated, 27 from the 1st year and 23 from the 3rd year of high school, with a predominance of females (n=27; 54%). The age range ranged from 14 to 18 years, with a mean age of 16.6 years. When analyzing the students’ discourses, 2568 occurrences of words were observed, and six categories emerged. CONCLUSION. The conversation circles were essential for the emotional development of the students, offering a safe environment and promoting interpersonal skills and coping strategies. Schools should adopt these practices to support the social and emotional development of students. © 2025, Escuela de Enfermeria Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. All rights reserved.