This article puts in context and evaluates the historical and political process of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform. The goal is to provide a brief retrospective and analysis of the management mechanisms that have permitted the Psychiatric Reform to advance. This historic process is divided into three periods: the implementation of deinstitutionalization, the expansion of the psychosocial support network, and the consolidation of the reformist hegemony. It is verified that the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform advances as management mechanisms are created to increase the service network. Nonetheless, consolidating the territorial support network and increasing the resources of the annual mental health care budget of the national health system remain a challenge.
Mental health; Health Services; Politics; Unified Health System