This work is a reflection starting from the view of the professional who lives the movement of transformation regarding the understanding and attendance to the mentally disturbed individual. Initially, the foundations of the psychiatric clinic under the classic vision of Foucault and its contestation are presented, starting from the ethical presuppositions of the new social order. The psychiatry that traps individuals on behalf of a therapeutic, needs to give place to a new clinic where the "lunatic" is a "man" with all his subjectivity. Although shortly, the processes of the psychiatric reform in several countries, with its successes, misunderstandings and strategies, are described and evaluated. It is concluded expressing the thoughts that an effective change does not happen by means of programmatic texts, but when sustained, above all, in ethical presuppositions that can work as decisive of the entire therapeutic process.
psychiatric reformation; mental health; psychiatry