LA PARTICIPACIÓN DEL PSICÓLOGO CLÍNICO EN LA PROMOCIÓN Y PREVENCIÓN DE LA SALUD MENTAL

Abstract

At a global level, the promotion and prevention of mental health is a matter of interest that promotes the well- being of the population and improves the quality of life; that is, the physical, psychological and social well- being, where the individual can recognize their own abilities, abilities and feelings to face situations and actively adapt to society. In Ecuador, the Ministry of Public Health emphasizes the need to achieve personal well-being from psychological intervention; however, the participation of the clinical psychologist in the promotion and prevention of mental health is limited, evidenced in the population, which goes to the services of this professional when the situation is complex. The purpose of this work is to identify the participation of the clinical psychologist in the promotion and prevention of mental health in the inhabitants; In order to obtain the results, a search and selection of updated bibliography was carried out, and a survey was applied to 264 inhabitants of the Portoviejo canton, between 18 and 45 years old and a semi-structured interview with ten clinical psychologists working in both the public and private sectors. It was found that the population is unaware of issues related to mental health and what little has been received through the activities carried out by educational institutions with limited professional participation, who recognize the need to strengthen this aspect, since only in the future will have an informed society on mental health issues and able to recognize problems in different area.