The Children and Youth Psychosocial Care Center (CAPSi) is configured as a daily outpatient clinic for children and adolescents with severe mental disorders. It is a healthcare model based on territorial and community bases. Because it is a new service intended for treating children and adolescents with severe mental disorders, and taking into account that health care involves aspects of environment, this study aimed to understand and describ the ambience of health care services for children and adolescents with severe mental disorders at CAPSi in the City of Vitória, ES, Brazil. It prioritized the components expressed in the form of care provided to users and interaction established between health professionals and users. The participant observation data collection technique was used. The study verified, based on Winnicott's theory, that the presence of and attention to available materials in these spaces, as well as sustainability and handling of activities, are important aspects in the constitution of the ambience in psychosocial care because they can provide children and adolescents who suffer from severe mental disorders with a safe environment, adequate to their needs.
Mental Health Services; Children; Adolescents; Environment; Winnicott