Social representations of integrative community therapy by the elderly.

Objective: To elicit the social representations of the elderly regarding integrative community therapy (ICT).

Method: This is an exploratory study conducted with 273 elderly people in a municipality of northeastern Brazil, in 2014. It is based on the theory of social representations and the free-association test for the inductor term "integrative community therapy". The data were processed using EVOC software and examined with the structural approach of social representations, followed by a similarity analysis and confrontation with literature.

Results: The organisation and meaning of the representations of ICT chiefly occurred through the core element: Group.

Conclusion: The analysis revealed that the ICT is a support network for the elderly, where they feel they belong to a group and feel empowered through participation in the sessions.