Abstract
The 3^rd edition of the series Arts and Care and Mental Health opens with a seminar presenting the research of José Morgado Pereira's doctoral thesis on Portuguese psychiatry during its institutionalisation. The paper analyses the period between the 1880's and the 1920's, starting with a synthesis of the international and national scientific-medical context, with reference to institutions, education, reform plans, publications, it is followed by brief historiographical considerations linked to a conceptual history. The main protagonists and their contributions are referenced. Consecutively, there is an analysis of some diseases, syndromes, and pathologizations from a constructionist perspective. Finally, the progress in the field of psychopathological understanding and various therapeutic forms are mentioned and the conclusions are presented.

Bio note

José Morgado Pereira. PhD from the University of Coimbra. Psychiatrist. Researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of the Twentieth Century of the University of Coimbra. He was a physician and chief of staff at the Sobral Cid Hospital. Member of the research team of the project “A Desinstitucionalização dos doentes mentais” [The Deinstitutionalisation of the mentally ill] funded by FCT.