Beyond access: mental health among racialized Brazilian women in Portugal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17267/2317-3394rpds.2026.e6637Keywords:
Psychological Stress, Racism, Cultural Competency, Social Discrimination, PsychotherapyAbstract
INTRODUCTION: The migratory flow of Brazilian women to Portugal has intensified in recent decades, driven by expectations of security, stability, and better living conditions. However, lived reality often contrasts sharply with these expectations, marked by precarious employment, institutional racism, and social exclusion, factors that generate psychological distress and motivate the search for psychological support. OBJECTIVE: To understand how racialized Brazilian women experience seeking and receiving psychological support in Portugal, considering the social markers of difference, gender, race, class, and nationality. METHOD: This qualitative study, grounded in intersectional and decolonial feminism and social constructionism, conducted fifteen semi-structured interviews with immigrant women who sought psychological care after migration. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The analysis revealed that the search for care emerges as a response to structural suffering, caused by the gap between expectations of welcome and experiences of discrimination, loneliness, and instability. Participants faced multiple access barriers, financial, bureaucratic, and symbolic, that evidence the persistence of colonial hierarchies in mental health services. In the therapeutic setting, the absence of multicultural competencies resulted in experiences of silencing, misunderstanding, and revictimization. As a counterpoint, creative resistance strategies emerged, such as online therapy with Brazilian professionals and engagement with community-based care networks. CONCLUSION: The study contributes to contemporary debates on migration, mental health, and intersectionality, reinforcing the urgency of culturally responsive public policies and clinical practices committed to social justice, ethics of care, and the decolonization of psychology.
Downloads
References
Alarcão, V., Candeias, P., Stefanovska Petkovska, M., Neves, J., Pintassilgo, S., Machado, F. L., Santos, O., Virgolino, A., Santos, R. R., Heitor, M. J., & Costa, A. (2024). Insights from the EQUALS4COVID19 study on migrant mental health in Portugal: A cross sectional mixed methods approach [Aportes del estudio EQUALS4COVID19 sobre la salud mental de personas migrantes en Portugal: Un enfoque mixto transversal]. BMC Public Health, 24, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19563-x
Azevedo, L. F. D., França, T., & Cairns, D. (2022). Es mejor ser pobre aquí: Procesos de toma de decisiones sobre migración y consideraciones políticas y de estilo de vida entre brasileños calificados en Portugal. Migraciones, 56, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.14422/mig.2022.020
Barata, C. (2022). “Mix of races, bad uterus”: Obstetric violence in the experiences of Afro Brazilian migrants in Portugal [“Mezcla de razas, útero defectuoso”: Violencia obstétrica en las experiencias de migrantes afrobrasileñas en Portugal]. Societies, 12(3), 78. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12030078
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis [Reflexiones sobre el análisis temático reflexivo]. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide [Análisis temático: Una guía práctica]. SAGE Publications.
Collins, P. H., & Bilge, S. (2021). Interseccionalidade [Interseccionalidad]. Boitempo.
Crenshaw, K. W. (2017). On intersectionality: Essential writings [Sobre la interseccionalidad: Escritos esenciales]. The New Press.
França, T., & Oliveira, S. P. (2021). Mulheres migrantes brasileiras como killjoys: Divulgando o racismo em Portugal “amigável” [Mujeres migrantes brasileñas como killjoys: Visibilizando el racismo “amigable” en Portugal]. Revista Estudos Feministas, 29(1), e63001. https://doi.org/10.1590/18094449202100630001
Hynie, M., Oda, A., Calaresu, M., Kuo, B. C. H., Ives, N., Jaimes, A., Bokore, N., Beukeboom, C., Ahmad, F., Arya, N., Samuel, R., Farooqui, S., Palmer Dyer, J. L., & McKenzie, K. (2023). Access to virtual mental healthcare and support for refugee and immigrant groups: A scoping review [Acceso a la atención y apoyo virtual en salud mental para personas refugiadas e inmigrantes: Una revisión de alcance]. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 25(5), 1171–1195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-023-01521-1
Inácio, R., Gonçalves, R., Pires, J., Marques, M. J., & Dias, S. (2025). Access and utilisation of Portuguese mental healthcare services by migrant children and adolescents: Perceptions and experiences of families [Acceso y uso de los servicios portugueses de salud mental por niños, niñas y adolescentes migrantes: Percepciones y experiencias de las familias]. Children and Youth Services Review, 178, 108535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108535
Kilomba, G. (2019). Memórias da plantação: Episódios de racismo cotidiano [Memorias de la plantación: Episodios de racismo cotidiano]. Cobogó.
Lantz, P. M., Goldberg, D. S., & Gollust, S. E. (2023). The perils of medicalization for population health and health equity [Los riesgos de la medicalización para la salud poblacional y la equidad en salud]. The Milbank Quarterly, 101(1), 61–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12619
Lin, S. L. (2023). Inequities in mental health care facing racialized immigrant older adults with mental disorders despite universal coverage: A population based study in Canada [Inequidades en la atención en salud mental que enfrentan personas mayores inmigrantes racializadas pese a la cobertura universal: Un estudio poblacional en Canadá]. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 78(9), 1555–1571. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad036
Pereira, D. F. (2022). Decolonialidade e avaliação psicológica [Decolonialidad y evaluación psicológica]. Vozes.
Pussetti, C. (Coord.), Ferreira, J. F., Lechner, E., & Santinho, C. (2009). Migrantes e saúde mental: A construção da competência cultural [Migrantes y salud mental: La construcción de la competencia cultural]. Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural.
Radl-Karimi, C., Nielsen, D. S., Sodemann, M., Batalden, P., & von Plessen, C. (2022). “When I feel safe, I dare to open up”: Immigrant and refugee patients’ experiences with coproducing healthcare [“Cuando me siento segura, me atrevo a abrirme”: Experiencias de pacientes inmigrantes y refugiados en la coproducción de la atención sanitaria]. Patient Education and Counseling, 105, 2338–2345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.11.009
Rocha-Jiménez, T., Torres, I., Cabieses, B., López Cevallos, D. F., & Mercado Órdenes, M. (2025). Intersectionality, racism, and mental health of migrants arriving at borders in Latin America: A qualitative study based on in depth interviews with key informants of the cases of Ecuador and Chile [Interseccionalidad, racismo y salud mental de personas migrantes que llegan a las fronteras de América Latina: Un estudio cualitativo basado en entrevistas en profundidad]. The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 44, 101040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2025.101040
Rogers, W. S., & Willig, C. (Eds.). (2017). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology [Manual SAGE de investigación cualitativa en psicología] (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Ryan, D., Tornberg Belanger, S. N., Perez, G., Maurer, S., Price, C., Rao, D., Chan, K. C. G., & Ornelas, I. J. (2021). Stress, social support and their relationship to depression and anxiety among Latina immigrant women [Estrés, apoyo social y su relación con la depresión y la ansiedad en mujeres inmigrantes latinas]. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 149, 110588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110588
Stevens, A. J., Boukari, Y., English, S., Kadir, A., Kumar, B. N., & Devakumar, D. (2024). Discriminatory, racist and xenophobic policies and practices against child refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented migrants in European health systems [Políticas y prácticas discriminatorias, racistas y xenófobas contra niños y niñas refugiados, solicitantes de asilo y migrantes indocumentados en los sistemas de salud europeos]. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 41, 100834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100834
Teixeira, I. N., Silva, P., Alckmin Carvalho, F., & Padilla, B. (2025). “We help each other through it”: Community support and labor experiences among Brazilian immigrants in Portugal [“Nos ayudamos mutuamente”: Apoyo comunitario y experiencias laborales de personas inmigrantes brasileñas en Portugal]. Behavioral Sciences, 15(9), 1283. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15091283
Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): A 32 item checklist for interviews and focus groups [Criterios consolidados para el reporte de investigación cualitativa (COREQ): Lista de verificación de 32 ítems para entrevistas y grupos focales]. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 19(6), 349–357. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm042
Torlig, E. G. S., Resende Junior, P. C., Fujihara, R. K., Montezano, L., & Demo, G. (2022). Proposta de validação para instrumentos de pesquisa qualitativa (Vali Quali) [Propuesta de validación de instrumentos de investigación cualitativa (Vali Quali)]. Administração Ensino e Pesquisa, 23(1), 5–31. https://doi.org/10.13058/raep.2022.v23n1.2022
Tourinho, L. O. S., Sotero, A. P. S., & Rodríguez, P. G. (2024). Migrações forçadas de mulheres e meninas e o direito à saúde: Uma análise comparada das experiências do Brasil, Espanha e Portugal [Migraciones forzadas de mujeres y niñas y el derecho a la salud: Un análisis comparado de las experiencias de Brasil, España y Portugal]. Cuadernos de Educación y Desarrollo, 16(16), Artículo e162024104. https://doi.org/10.61541/hhesqd76
Vergès, F. (2020). Um feminismo decolonial [Un feminismo decolonial]. Ubu.
World Health Organization. (2025, September). Refugee and migrant mental health [Salud mental de personas refugiadas y migrantes]. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/refugee-and-migrant-mental-health
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Izabela Pinheiro, Mariana Holanda Rusu, Conceição Nogueira, Joana Topa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
