Experiences in the substitutive network, meanings and therapeutic itineraries of women with a history of psychiatric hospitalization

Abstract

Objective: to describe meanings, therapeutic itineraries and experiences of women with mental
disorders and previous hospitalization history in psychiatric hospitals in relation to the Psychosocial
care network. Methodology: this is a qualitative study guided by social constructionism according
to the Social Psychology approach. Eight women participated in the study through semi-structured
interviews, and the contents were analyzed through the construction of meanings based on
idea association maps and thematic synthesis. Results: the meanings given by the participants
were grouped into four thematic categories: a) from the crisis(es) to the psychiatric hospital:
itineraries of loss, prejudice and mistreatment; b) trajectories in the substitutive network:
advances in mental healthcare; c) significant social actors in the deinstitutionalization process;
d) challenges to enhance mental healthcare in the territory: what is the place and role of Primary
Care? These meanings express advances in psychiatric reform and permanence of the biomedical
model in the experiences of the participants in their deinstitutionalization process. Conclusion:
the meanings produced by female users of mental health services reflect itineraries and social
processes related to the conceptions of psychological suffering from the first crisis to the present
day. They can serve as a pathway to advances in community-based mental healthcare.