This study aimed at learning how relatives of patients with mental disorders have experienced dealing with a mental health care service. The exploratory and descriptive method was used with a qualitative approach. Data collection was performed using semi-structured interviews. Subjects were six family members who had been living for over three years with the process of having a mentally ill relative. Data analysis allowed us to infer that relatives who closely follow the patient had to deal with the knowledge acquired from their day-to-day experience and were subject to rejection by other family and community members. As regards the psychosocial care center, the relatives felt welcomed in their complaints, receiving a unique treatment; however, they did not know the mechanisms for social participation, which points to a deficiency in the service as it should stimulate forms of insertion into the community and the strengthening of the patients' rights as citizens.
Mental health; Family; Mental health services