From the exclusion to the mental health care:

the historical context of social isolation and the anti-institutionalization movemen

Abstract

This article discusses the history of madness and social isolation as a form of “moral treatment” within psychiatric institutions, critically examining this logic and addressing the process of psychiatric reform and the development of community-based deinstitutionalizing practices that stand in opposition to isolation. The theoretical–methodological approach is grounded in a narrative literature review and in the construction of narratives based on experiences during a psychology training placement within the Mental Health Network of Niterói, thereby highlighting the analytical potential of situated experience. The concepts explored in this study draw on the ideas of authors such as Paulo Amarante, Michel Foucault, and Beatriz Nascimento.