The object of this study is the production of mental health service. It is composed by working processes organized to improve the object of the health care, through institutions and knowledge, technology and health practices. The aim of this study was to describe the conceptions of the workers of different mental health services on the production of these services. The workers took a specialization course in mental health technologies, financed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Data were collected during a class period, with previous participant’s authorization. Among the workers of the Psychiatry Hospitals, Mental Health Ambulatories and Health Care Units, the conception of the health illness-process was multifactorial and individual centred. At the Psychosocial Attention Center (PAC) the conception appeared to be similar to the theory of the social determination. The object of the assistance was the sick person or even the illness symptom, but PAC workers linked the sick person to his "social net". The challenge is to understand the social determination of the mental health-illness process and to redefine working process, in order to act not only on curing but also on preventing mental health problems.
Health services; Public health; Mental health; Delivery of health care