Social Work and mental health: the professional work of social workers in Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS)

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the interfaces between Social Work and mental health, focusing on the Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS). To this end, the existing literature on the subject was analyzed, including books, scientific articles, and legal and normative frameworks. Initially, a brief socio-historical overview of the relationship between Social Work and mental health in Brazil is presented. Subsequently, CAPS are highlighted as outcomes of the Psychiatric Reform and the Anti-Asylum Movement, constituting not only community-based mental health care services but also important fields for social workers’ professional practice. Finally, the limits and possibilities of professional practice are discussed within a neoliberal context marked by the dismantling of social policies. The study concludes that social workers, given their professional training, are equipped to confront this scenario by contributing to the development of critical social awareness and by articulating the social struggles of collective subjects in defense of working-class rights. In the field of mental health, professional practice should be aligned with the principles of the Health Reform, the Psychiatric Reform, and the Anti-Asylum Movement, emphasizing the investigative dimension as a central element consistent with the ethical-political project of the Social Work profession.