Psychosocial care center workers in Alagoas, Brazil: interstices of new practices

Psychosocial care centers are one of the main strategies for ensuring mental healthcare within the scope of the brasilian psychiatric reform and have required considerable numbers of workers involved in new practices. In this study, it was sought to discover how the process of introducing these workers into the services took place, how they are perceived and how they perceive their practices within the new context. This was a qualitative study using the method of thematic oral history, guided by interviews in order to produce data. Thematic analysis was used to discuss the results. From this analysis, four thematic categories emerged: integration with the services; distress among the workers; new care technologies; and precarious employment. The statements indicated that there was a need for care among the workers, taking into considering the demands on them, with the aim that these services might function at their full potential.