This study, conducted in a partnership composed by UFRJ, UNICAMP and UFBa, wanted to investigate the experience of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, in treatment in CAPS, and the experience of psychiatrists inserted in the public mental health care services. Narratives related to health and illness, in the case of people with schizophrenia, and narratives about the process of formulation of the schizophrenia diagnosis, prognosis and treatment in the case of psychiatrists, were studied. This is a qualitative, multicenter study, informed by the theoretical approaches of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Medical Anthropology held in Campinas, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. The main methodological tool used for the production of narratives were focus groups. Procedures of the Explicitation Interview were incorporated. The categories identified in this study were Illness Experience, Diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Social Stigma, Recovery Experience, and Treatment and dynamic context of CAPS. The narratives that composed each category were presented and discussed in order to give visibility to the elements characterizing the narratives-experiences, indicating how it configures its complexity.
illness experience; narrative; schizophrenia