ABSTRACT
This study discusses health care in psychosocial care focusing on medication management. The theoretical axis articulates the psychiatric reform with daily lives of individuals in mental health service. The research was carried out at a Psychosocial Care Center (Caps) in Fortaleza, State of Ceará (CE), Brazil. The participants of the research were five professionals, ten users and nine family members. The research techniques used were: semi-structured interview, systematic observation, and focus group. The dialectical hermeneutic analysis followed the premises of Minayo. In the field, there was a lost subject-user in confrontation with an institutionalizing reality, highlighting the hegemony of the biomedical clinic, represented by the prescriptive practice of medicaments and the fragmented care management.
KEYWORDS:
Health management; Medicalization; Personal autonomy; Institutionalization; Mental health