[Mental health and the Family Health Program: pathways and obstacles in a necessary approach].

The focus of this study is mental health care in the Brazilian Family Health Program (FHP), with the complexity of such care as the main premise. The objectives were to analyze the actual conditions of mental health care in FHP services in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, describing the dynamics of such care and identifying situations and instruments used by different health professionals in dealing with problems of mental distress in the community. By means of a descriptive exploratory methodology, the discourses of eight health teams were studied, using content analysis. The study concluded that the demand for care for individuals with mental distress was not recorded on the patient charts, nor was it part of a proposal for individual or family interventions; some measures were taken according to a lay concept of 'mental illness' and treatment, while referral to the specialized mental health care network was frequently used, despite its precariousness, thus reflecting the need for continuing training in mental health.