This effort to decipher psychiatric reform starts from the supposition that the reform contains within itself distinct theoretical-practical determinations, at times associated, at times competing. We begin by addressing the issue from a conceptual standpoint, from there moving to a short historical overview that seeks to uncover the emancipatory motivations underlying the reform. Lastly, these determinations are analyzed in brief, our purpose being to initiate a debate about the strategic changes that the movement should enact if it is to avoid retrogression in its practices.
mental health; psychiatric reform; political clinical practice