This study addresses mental health and, based on a conceptual review, offers considerations on the management of deinstitutionalization processes regarding individuals interned in long-stay psychiatric institutions. Elements concerning asylum formation and logic are discussed, along with the mechanisms necessary for the effective change in paradigm and practices, with deinstitutionalization and psychosocial rehabilitation as the core issues. Reflections are offered regarding management actions committed to the psychosocial model, linking such actions to the application of the components of care and going beyond the articulation of the tools of mental health policy. Theoretical reflection offers suggestions referring to the qualification processes of mental health professionals, deinstitutionalization in the management of the Unified Health System and tripartite action with co-accountability in actions and financing. The final considerations recognize the bureaucratic obstacles in the public realm and propose facing these challenges as a management challenge, along with processes of change that can radically commit to the lives of people, thereby broadening the discussion to the ethical realm.
Management; Deinstitucionalization; Rehabilitation; Care