THE UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT AS A PRODUCER OF OPPRESSION AND PSYCHIC SUFFERING

Abstract

The university environment can be a place of oppression and cause psychological distress in students, given an educational model that focuses more on the reproduction of content, pressure for academic performance, excessive competition between students, lack of emotional support, prejudice and discrimination. The article analyzes, through an integrative review, articles indexed in scientific databases: Online Scientific Electronic Library – SciELO, Electronic Psychology Journal Portal (PePSIC), Virtual Health Library – BVS and Capes Periodicals, including scientific articles, published in Portuguese, with priority given to publications within the last ten years and made available in full, with the use of descriptors such as “academic environment”, combined with one of the following words: “psychological distress”, “university environment”, “academic environment”, “oppression”, “mental health” and “oppressive dynamics”, “interventions for the promotion of mental health”. Eighteen articles were analyzed in light of the following questions: “What are the current educational models and their possible contribution to the maintenance of oppression in higher education institutions?”; “What types of violence exist in the relational dynamics between teachers and students resulting from the academic environment?” and presented some type of possible intervention to promote mental health in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The urgency of inclusive policies, emotional support and structural changes to combat structural violence and promote a more welcoming and healthier environment is highlighted, proposing strategies that value diversity, encourage collaborative pedagogical practices and prioritize collective well-being as part of academic development.