This study aimed in understanding the vision from the family members of a Psychosocial Attention Center' (CAPS) users about the work of the mental health professionals. It's a qualitative research, based on Alfred Schutz' Social Phenomenology framework. Data were collected through interviews with 13 family members in 2006 at a CAPS unit in Porto Alegre. The comprehensive analysis allowed considering that the family members don't feel fully recognized in their life experience about the team's actions. Moreover, the management of municipal policies on mental health has reflected negatively in the daily work of the team. To know and to understand the biography of the family is indispensable to the CAPS team work. Recognizing the family as a partner can be an important strategy to the team work, contributing to the consolidation of public policies on mental health.
Mental Health; Mental Health Services; Family; Philosophy