Matrix support in Mental Health: narrative revision of the concepts horizontality and supervision and their practical implications

Abstract The Matrix Support (MS) is one of the cornerstones of the integration between Primary Health Care (PHC) professionals and Mental Health professionals (MH). A narrative review was conducted on the articles on MS in MH published in national databases from 1998 to 2017, considering a brief history of the PHC reorganization processes that led to the creation of the MS proposal. The aim was to understand the meanings attributed to the terms “horizontality” and “supervision” as well as the descriptions of the “matrix support” itself. We sought to identify factors contributing to the difficulties that have been described in the practices and literature, based on the assumption that these concepts are polysemous and it is possible to generate ambiguities that operate to the detriment of interprofessional practices. Based on the analysis of the selected articles, we were able to conclude that, in addition to polysemy, the obstacles’ force lies in the hegemonic model of professional Health training, as it is traditional, hierarchical and uni-professional, and hinders the development of dialogic relations that favor the integration of the matrix support teams and PHC and consequent resolubility and quality of care.