Despite the widespread use of the term “reference teams” as a way of organizing treatment in psychosocial assistance centers (known in Brazil as CAPS – Centros de Atenção Psicossocial) and other sites of psychiatric reform, debates and analysis on their weaknesses and potentialities are still limited. This article discusses possible ways of preventing bureaucratic administrative processes from reducing the potential for transformating services based on “reference teams.” This paper also uses the medical treatment proposed by Winnicot and discusses problems brought up by the notion of bonds – intrinsic to the term “reference team” – when used in regard to alternative mental health services.
Psychiatric reform; psychosocial assistance centres (CAPS); public institution; mental health services