Extension research in the promotion of mental health: a balancing act for navigating literary craftsmanship

The aim of this study is to present a way of constructing knowledge through the weaving of literary craftsmanship as a possibility of decolonizing the Eurocentric logic of the academic universe. To this end, a critical literature review was carried out, taking decolonial thinking as its epistemological direction, thus interweaving a dialogue between publications from academically recognized digital platforms, with other knowledge that is recorded in narratives present in marginal memories. It emerged from an extension research project built on the interface between the transVERgente Extension Program and the Postgraduate Program in Psychology, Practices and Innovation in Mental Health (PRISMAL/UPE). Literary craftsmanship has been countering the coloniality of knowledge, proposing a way of spinning the pluriversity of experiences, dialogues and the sharing of knowledge. It has also shown itself to be a possible way to decolonize academic research writing, listening to the voices of marginal memories in conversation with voices already legitimized in the scientific universe.