[Madness in freedom: experiences in Crato-CE (1930-1970)].

This study aims at identifying the most meaningful characters in the social imaginary and narrating its experience. This is a social-historical study in which oral (semi-structured interviews) and written documental sources were used. The interpretation of data was based on the archeological studies by Foucault on the history of madness and on other authors who worked with the themes: psychiatric madness and psychiatric reform. The narration of madness in the scenery of Crato indicates the existence of a multiplicity that reveals diversity, transcending the traditional psychiatric paradigm, which has as its principle the idea that the "mad person" should be isolated from society. We expect that this study contribute to the debate of nursing professional in the field of psychiatric and mental health.