Mental health care - the view of family members

Abstract

The objective of this study is to understand the process of restructuring psychiatric care in Brazil from the point of view of family members. The settings used in this study were the Associação Franco Basaglia (in São Paulo) and the Associação de Amigos, Familiares e Doentes Mentais do Brasil (AFDM - in Rio de Janeiro). Data collection included the analysis of documents about the creation and organization of both associations and semi-structured interviews. There were ten interviews with relatives who were also members of the board of the Associations. The investigation showed that, for the family members of AFDM, besides the difficulty in living near the mental patients, the lack of trust in the assistance provided by our services, and the fact that the State does not do its role in providing health care to the population, there is also the possibility of closure of the local psychiatric hospitals. For the families of AFB, the burden of caring for their mental patients is mitigated by the partnership with the services and professionals who give assistance to the mental patients. The problem may be solved by the construction and development of State services and institutions, training centers and health professionals, focusing on the social and historical context faced by the families of mental patients.