This research studied the dynamics of families dealing with mental issues at 'CERSAM - Teresopolis de Betim', a city located in the surroundings of Belo Horizonte (MG). The samples comprised eight families being assisted by a social program involving Mental Health and Family - Programa de extensão Saúde Mental e Família - in partnership with the town hall of Betim and PUC- Minas (Catholic University of Minas Gerais). Data were collected from a family dossier, which showed the following categories: family situation, income, emergency of psychopathology and the family dynamics. The results showed that, a low family income, the chronic nature of the mental disease leading to dependence, the crisis after the disease appeared, and the need for continuous care, are factors that contribute to a existential territory marked by pain and suffering, thus, developing a form of 'existence in group' that finds support in the mental condition.
Mental health; family; schizoanalysis