Introduction:

Among those members who participate in the family health strategy is the nurse, a professional who can perceive the individual in his/her entire being, favoring qualified assistance for people with mental disorders.

Objective:

To analyze the image about the person with a mental disorder constructed by the nurse who is a member of the family health strategy.

Methods:

Qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study whose setting was composed of the health units in Maceió and carried out with the participation of fifteen nurses, who were conducted a semi-structured interview. The methodology used was content analysis through thematic analysis, while the theoretical framework used included the concepts of stigma, and social and personal identity provided within Erving Goffman's theory.

Results:

In the problematization, three categories of analysis emerged: mental disorder, an image still stigmatized; nurse-person relationship, difficulties for the encounter between the self and the other; and possibilities for a change, the carrier of a mental disorder is simply a person.

Conclusion:

The nursing staff still maintains an image marked by the stigma of insanity; feelings of insecurity and lack of confidence hinder the performance or provision of effective mental health cares, which is, in turn, related to poor training and absence of upgrade.

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