Mental Healthcare in small and medium-sized cities: resonance of the psychiatric reform

From the analysis of the national Mental Health policy, formulated in the past years, and from the experiences developed after 1987, it is sought to: understand how Brazilian Health System has contributed to the development of the psychiatric reform in towns; verify how the assistance offered in those towns is making the psychiatric reform principles feasible as well as improving the users´ living conditions; and research the role of the workers and managers in the construction of new care practices in Mental Health. The analysis of the discursive practices point out that the various social segments involved in Mental Health have acquaintance with the principles and proposals of the psychiatric reform. However, the municipal administrations do not thoroughly take on the proposals of the Health Ministry to this field, under the allegation of lack of financial funds to meet the demands. The users and their relatives have gradually assumed the new intervention proposals, but the mechanisms of participation and popular organization are still incipient. Lastly, it is important to stress that for an effective consolidation of the current psychiatric reform proposals, there must be, among other actions, more commitment by the managers as far as Mental Health is concerned, more investments in multi-professional teams, encouragement to the organization and the users' and relatives' participation and integration of health devices, social assistance and the culture existing in towns.

Psychiatric reform; Psychosocial attention; Mental health; Collective health