Rio Carnival as treatment for mental health patients

Patients of Rio de Janeiro psychiatric treatment center celebrated Carnival on Thursday, wearing bright costumes and dancing the samba in the streets.

Doctors and patients of the “Pedro II” psychiatric center danced through the street while singing songs that made light of mental illnesses. “To me it represents a lot, for them (mental health patients) even more. It’s a way for them to socialize, a way to say they are normal people and can participate in everything,” said social assistant Denise Pimenta. Created in 2001, the street party called Suburban Madness, is aimed at integrating the mental health patients into society.