Stigma related to bipolar disorder in the perception of psychiatrists from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

This research sought to understand meanings and implications of the stigma related to bipolar disorder in relation to social processes and local cultural value systems. Seven semidirected individual interviews were performed with psychiatrists (from Belo Horizonte city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil) and analyzed with referential from the Medical Anthropology. Some potential stigmatizing views about bipolar disorder patients were endorsed by respondents related to biomedical model of bipolar disorder.

[Conceptions of mental disorders and their treatment among elderly patients at a public mental health facility].

In order to understand the thoughts and actions of elderly patients with mental disorders, we interviewed 13 elders (> 60 years of age) treated at a public hospital in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Data analysis was based on the signs, meanings, and actions model. The majority of the elderly patients denied the presence of any mental disorder, but identified signs of mental distress, grouped into three main categories: "nerves", "head problems", and "craziness".