August 2026:
CARE was delighted to host Dr Felipe Szabzon, a visiting researcher from the University of São Paulo and King’s College London, on 7 and 8 July for a programme of activities focused on community care, social inequality and wellbeing.
Hosted by Dr Jeremy Dixon, the visit strengthened international research links and facilitated knowledge exchange between researchers working in Wales and Brazil on issues relating to community mental health care.
As part of the visit, Felipe delivered a CARE seminar entitled Who Cares in Unequal Cities? Social Suffering, Community Care, and Urban Mental Health in Contemporary Latin America. Drawing on his research in São Paulo, Brazil, Felipe explored how the community mental health system had developed in Brazil, following the closure of long-term psychiatric hospitals in the 1980s and 1990s. He discussed how community mental health services have evolved and the important role played by community organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations and informal networks of care.
The seminar attracted participants from across Cardiff University, bringing together researchers and students from sociology, social work, geography and planning. Participants reflected on common themes including inequalities in access to support, how services developed during the Covid-19 pandemic and the contribution of social workers and local organisations to people’s wellbeing.
Dr Jeremy Dixon, who hosted Felipe’s visit, said:
“It was a pleasure to welcome Felipe to CARE and to learn from his research on urban mental health and community care. Brazil has adopted care in the community policies for people with mental health problems relatively recently. While the social and policy contexts differ, there were some surprising similarities between the mental health systems in Brazil and the UK. It was also useful to learn about innovations in Brazil which the UK system might adopt, such as the provision of mental health within community day centres”.
The visit forms part of CARE’s ongoing commitment to fostering international collaborations and bringing together researchers from different disciplines to address complex social care challenges. By sharing ideas and experiences across national and disciplinary boundaries, these exchanges help generate new insights and strengthen research that can inform policy and practice.
For a more detailed account of Felipe’s research on Brazil’s mental health reforms and the role of social workers in supporting community-based care, read Felipe’s blog post: Beyond the Asylum: Social Workers and Mental Health Reform in Brazil.
CARE would like to thank Felipe for sharing his research and insights and looks forward to future opportunities for collaboration between colleagues in Cardiff, São Paulo and beyond.
