Mental Health in the basic health attention context: potentialities, limitations, challenges in Family Health Program

Abstract

This study detaches the possibilities to include Mental Health assistance in the Family Health Program (PSF). Thus, it sought to analyze through in the national literature the possibilities, limitations and challenges of the Family Health Program’s professionals for facing some practice subjects. Literature review developed from indexed articles in the Virtual Health Library at LILACS and SciELO bases. Articles was accessed by the following descriptors, “Mental Health”, “Family”, and “Family Health Program”, available in these bases from 1997 to 2007. First it was identified 155 articles and from those 50 (30 LILACS and 20 SciELO) was in interest for this review. From analysis of these 50 articles it was possible to identify two groups in convergence. 1. Family Health Program and the Psychosocial Rehabilitation: what are common? 2. From discordance to the possibilities: limitation, contradictions, impasses for Mental Health in the Family Health Program. Concluding, although there are tendencies for knowledge enlargement about this theme, it is necessary some initiatives to surpass the hegemonic mental health care assistance model, which in fact, has significant impact in health care practice.