Reflections on mental health as a political agenda in Brazil: From the process of enclosure to the restructuring of national policy

Abstract

The present critical theoretical study aimed to reflect on the process of restructuring mental health in Brazil. As a methodology, the development of a study of theoretical reflection was outlined, with the perspective of discussing the phenomenon of the Brazilian psychiatric reform, taking into account the studies related to the theme, and that would dialogue about such scientific knowledge. The process of psychiatric reform, which began in the 90s, aimed to combat imprisonment through the deinstitutionalization of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of mental illnesses, in the search to bring back to society, as citizens, individuals with mental illnesses, as well as to restructure the psychiatric health model in the country. Such dynamics were based on the ideals of humanization. The expansion of the Psychosocial Care Centers, and consequently, the decrease in the percentage of beds in psychiatric hospitals, accompanied by changes in the labor process, are presented as consequences of this process.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2024.018-013