Social support and family burden: a look at the everyday care of the mentally handicapped

Abstract

With psychiatric deinstitutionalization focused on the provision of community mental health services and shorter hospital stays, families have become the main providers of care and support to patients. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of the presence of a person with mental disorder in the family context and experience. The analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with family caregivers, selected from a sample of registered users of a Psychosocial Care Centre (CAPS) located in Recife. Concepts important to the subject, such as social networks, social support and family burden were used to guide the data collection and analysis. This study points to the importance of appropriate orientation and support by mental health services to help relieve family burden.