Abstract

NUNES, Karla Gomes  and  GUARESCHI, Neuza M. de F.. From replacement to changeover: the legislation on mental health and the service network in the city of Porto Alegre. Aletheia [online]. 2011, n.35-36, pp. 137-153. ISSN 1413-0394.

It is analyzed the articulation of propositions of public mental health policies and the strategies to the re-orientation of the care model on mental health that started in the movements for the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform. The work is based on Foucault's genealogical perspective which implies the description of the ruptures and continuities between the current legislation on public health and the implementation of establishments envisaged by the law. The first part of this study is based on bibliographical and documental research, while the second one is founded on a survey on the mental health services existing in the city of Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul. The alignment of the data referring to the services implemented in the city and the proposals enshrined in the official documents renders possible the observation that, in both cases, the discourse for the creation of a network of services to replace asylums is masked by the establishment of alternatives to internment rather than its overcoming.

Keywords : Psychiatric reform; Public policies; Mental health services.