Entre avanços e recuos: a história da reforma psiquiátrica.

Abstract

The Psychiatric Reform consists in one permanent process of construction, reflections and transformations that occurs at the same time in different settings. There were many experiences of the Psychiatric Reform that happened in several countries. Some of them, however, were remarkable for its innovation and impact, to the extent of being recognized until today and still influencing the contemporary experiences. The proposed changes go beyond the dimension of assistance and go through the political, social and cultural dimensions as well. In Brazil, the transformations in the Mental Health Care model were contemporary to the raised discussions by the Sanitary Reform in the 70s, that proposed the transformations of the national public health. From the hospital model to the substitute’s services, it occurred great transformations in the care for people with mental disorder. The CAPS network becomes gradually a reference, including strategic value to the Psychiatric Reform. Promotion of the intersectorality, of interdisciplinarity, deinstitutionalization, promotion of welcoming and coexistence places in groups and social inclusion are some of the principles of the Psychiatric Reform and they stand as fundamental and guiding elements of the National Mental Health Policy. The Psychiatric Reform movement, which brought important changes to the psychosocial attention in Brazil, also reached the municipality of Campina Grande/PB. Thereby, this research aimed to analyze how the principles of the Psychiatric Reform have been effective in Campina Grande and to identify the main changes occurred in the Mental Health Care model in the municipality. It granted a bibliographic study with a qualitative approach. From the data that was obtained, we identified that the Mental Health Care system scenario from the municipality presented, in the last three decades, intense modification in the assistance model and in the destination of the financial resources, standing out the main changes as being the reduction of beds, the installation of a network of substitute models and the approximation of the family to the treatment. Despite the advances, in the current political scenario, the emergence of new challenges that points out to a backward movement is more evident.