[Elements for changing a prevailing psychiatric care model]

This study presents the results of research done at the Pedro II Psychiatric Center in 1995, as part of a partnership between the Center and the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Research includes the development of a profile for inpatients based on clinical and socioeconomic data from patient files, emergency ward assessment of the group's interactive abilities based on WHO parameters, and a critical analysis of the psychiatric care model employed in the Psychiatric Center. With the psychiatric reform pursued by major sectors of Brazilian society we intend not only to respond to the economic/administrative irrationality created by 'hospital-centrism', but especially to meet the needs of patients, health professionals, and society in general in moving away from a psychiatric care model dominated by the reference patterns of psychiatry and to de-institutionalize mental health. The results of this study criticize the biomedical model and open the door to a care model engaged in psychosocial rehabilitation. The critical analysis based upon the data from the investigation done at the Psychiatric Center should be applicable to other psychiatric hospitals in Brazil's public and private sectors.