ON THE DIVERSITY, CULTURE AND MENTAL HEALTH: NEW DIMENSIONS TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF MADNESS

Abstract

The authors discuss psychiatric models, highlighting in Brazil the perspectives of the Psychiatric Reform and the defense of deinstitutionalization of illness and of the individual considered mentally ill. It is assumed that the meaning of insanity is broader and deeper than its cut just as mental illness. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the understanding of this trend requires taking into consideration the different dimensions of reality, among those are: epistemology, legal-policy, technical assistance and socio-cultural dimension. Therefore, institutional changes such as those expected with the emancipatory psychiatric reform, cannot be only marginal, cosmetic, or pointed to technical specificities, but must necessarily encompass the ideological aspects of power, resulting in the production of conditions for dialogue on topics still misunderstood in their complexity such as madness. DESCRIPTORS: Mental Health. Psychiatry. Health Care Reform.