The aim of this study was to analyze what professionals from a team within the Family Health Strategy (FHS) understand mental health to be. This descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach was conducted with 16 professionals from a FHS team in the city of Guaiúba, CE, Brazil. Data were collected during January and February 2011 through focal groups in which the dialogues were recorded and later transcribed for analysis. The following categories emerged from content analysis: "Talking about mental health vs. Thinking about mental disorder" and "Understanding mental health more broadly". Some professionals revealed restricted, mental disorder-centered conceptions, while others understood mental health more broadly, recognizing the dynamics of the health-disease continuum and identifying aspects that influence one's mental health.
Mental health; Family health program; Mental health assistance; Primary health care