[Policies and practices in mental health: the evidence in question].

The paper analyzes some current questions related to the choice of evidence in order to provide guidelines for public policy and practices in mental health care. It starts with a critical reflection on the categories of evidence proposed by Evidence-Based Medicine, and also the concept of qualitative evidence. The issue is analyzed specifically in relation to mental health care users and their demands to have services organized in a way that incorporates their perceptions and values, and to the Psychiatric Reform field proper firmly grounded in ethical and political precepts.