This study examined the imaginary and affective elements of subjective professional-work bonding within the current context of the field of mental health. Using the theoretical framework of the French school of psychosociology, the analysis focused on the meanings that work takes on; organizational imaginary; and professionals' experience of pleasure/suffering. The empirical material for the investigation was extracted from a field study carried out in a psychosocial care center in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This analysis found new meanings for attendance, packaged as an imaginary of transformation of care, thereby inspiring pleasure in the work. On the other hand, the challenges of the transformation proposal, the adversities in material support, the seriousness of the cases and the scarce social value of the work give rise to a distressing experience. Influenced by these elements, the bonding to the work and the attendance itself are seated in a fragile balance.
Mental health; Health care reform; Work