From total institutionalization to medicalization: reports from mental health services in Feira de Santana, Bahia

Abstract

This article aims to build a brief history of mental health care, from the beginnings of total institutionalization to contemporary medicalization processes, taking into account the experiences of the Psychology internship at the Hospital Especializado Lopes Rodrigues (HELR) and other health devices of the city of Feira de Santana, Bahia. The reflections designed by Michel Foucault, Franco Basaglia, Erving Goffman and Paulo Amarante, compared with the experience of the internship, pointed to the transition from the process of total institutionalization to the medicalization of life. Through this investigation it was possible to verify the permanence of discourses and practices that are not in accordance with current legislation, which proposes a complex process of deinstitutionalization in mental health, as well as to contact the psychologist's role in maintaining this state of affairs.