Objective:

to explore the meanings and alternatives of approach in the children mental health professionals related to the attention of children in Medellin, Colombia.

Methodology:

qualitative research in which 16 professionals participated; semi-structured interviews and a focus group were carried out. The information was transcribed and processed in Atlas ti., following the methodological guidelines of the grounded theory for the analysis of the information.

Results:

Findings suggest that mental health professionals’ meanings are built according to their academic training, nevertheless their role is limited by institutional, political, economic and social conditions. Biomedical, socioeconomic and right discourses coexist on children mental health meanings.

Discussion:

there are barriers to comprehensive and integrated services in mental health, such as the lack of institutional articulation, the vulnerable population precarious living conditions, and the limitations of the Colombian health system. It is necessary to advance in the construction of a mental health concept, appropriate to the characteristics and contexts of childhood development.

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