Chapter 2. Notions and types of community coping in community mental health support centers CAMSCUNAD

The chapter delves into the analysis of community coping, exploring its concept and validation through the implementation experience of the Community Mental Health Support Centers (CASMCUNAD).  A qualitative research using documentary exploration and cartographic analysis is presented, employing social cartographies of various communities to collect information. The results indicate that the participating communities do have community coping mechanisms, being the search for social support and the approach to the social environment the most used strategies to face difficult situations and promote social transformation.

The introduction highlights the role of the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD) in the creation of the CASMCUNAD, centers that seek to address psychosocial problems from the perspective of community mental health, promoting prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. The use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) is emphasized as a methodology that allows the construction of knowledge from the perspectives of the communities. The text also mentions community participatory diagnosis, where community coping emerged as a relevant category. The commitment of community social psychology (CSP) to social change and the empowerment of communities is highlighted, considering their knowledge and experiences as valuable.

Finally, the concept of coping is introduced, both at the individual and community levels, citing Lazarus and Folkman (1984) and Villagrán et al. (2014). The main objective of the research is to analyze the concept of community coping and its application in the CASMCUNADs through social mapping, seeking to strengthen the implementation of these centers and to understand how communities collectively face adverse situations.