This article presents a reflection on the mental healthcare field, considered here as a historical production related to an institution of healthcare education in the city of Porto Alegre-RS. The paper traces back the construction of mental healthcare bases through the cartographic approach, examining the relationship of forces that underlie historical events. It also identifies the intersections and differences in comparison to the national scene. For this purpose we use a theoretical ground inspired in Mario Testa. In this historic construction, we aim to analyse the technical, political and administrative powers that compose the productions in mental healthcare. In the conclusion, we introduce some encounters that show us a picture of the hospital group trespassed by several institutions: the private model, the public model, the mental healthcare and the traditional psychiatry.
mental healthcare; health institution; history; cartography