[Brazilian experiences in the participation of users and family members in mental health research].

In this paper the authors describe and contextualize the participation of users and family members in mental health research in Brazil, addressing the recent tradition of the experiences of recovery and empowerment to define the analysis of some Brazilian experiences of evaluative research and intervention projects, which count on these social actors to act as researchers. The experiences of Self-Help Groups and the Guide to Autonomous Medication Management are described briefly, in order to analyze the limits and possibilities of participation of users and their family members in research, which is still incipient and sporadic in the Brazilian reality. The authors also recommend the creation of an agenda in public health policy that encourages this participation.

[Empowerment of users and family members in mental health care and in evaluative/interventional research: a brief comparison between the Anglo-Saxon tradition and the Brazilian experience].

The scope of this article is to assess the main characteristics of the traditions and experiences of empowerment of users and family members in mental health treatment and services in Anglo-Saxon countries and in Brazil and the repercussions and strategies thereof in the field of evaluative and interventional research in mental health. Based on a brief bibliographical review of the literature, the aim is to compare how the empowerment tradition has developed in the two realities, based on the characteristics of the economic, political, social - and especially cultural - context. The review revealed how these contexts induce different perspectives on how to foster the autonomy and empowerment of users and family members in social policies and mental health, as well as their appropriation in the field of evaluative and interventional research.