摘要：O presente artigo objetiva identificar a sobrecarga experienciada pelo familiar responsável pelo cuidado direto de usuários de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial do Interior Paulista, a partir de um roteiro semi-estruturado que abordava dados de caracterização dos familiares, sua história de vida e temas relacionados ao adoecimento psíquico do usuário. Foram realizadas entrevistas com nove familiares, com idades entre 28 e 80 anos, sendo 8 do sexo feminino, no geral, mães de usuários. O material foi submetido à análise qualitativa e houve a formação de categorias temáticas que indicaram a presença de sobrecarga emocional, prática e financeira no cotidiano dos familiares entrevistados. A importância da rede de apoio é destacada no momento da crise. Ressalta-se a idade elevada dos cuidadores como dado a ser considerado pelas equipes de serviços abertos de saúde mental, mediante as atuais políticas públicas que delineiam o cuidado ao portador de sofrimento mental no meio sócio-familiar.
其他摘要：The present study has as objective to identify the burden, experienced by the family member in charge of taking care of his relative, who is a user of a small town "Psychosocial Care Center", located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. A semi-structured questionnaire was used, in order to obtain a characterization of the family members, based on both, their life story and other topics related to the patients psychological illness. The interviews were carried out with 9 family members, from 28 to 80 years old, being most of them the patients' mothers. The data were analyzed by using a qualitative analysis, thus forming theme categories that indicated the presence of an emotional, practical and financial overload to the family member in charge of the patient's daily care. The study emphasizes the need for a support group, mainly during crisis. It also points out the advanced age of the caretakers, as an aspect to be considered by the teams that work in the mental health field, in the view of the Brazilian public policy, which open the possibility of looking after the patient with mental disorders within his social and familiar context.
