ABSTRACT Objective: To learn about the perceptions of the professionals who work in Primary Health Care about mental health care. Methods: Descriptive and qualitative study, carried out with 29 health workers through open and individual interviews. The IRaMuTeQ® software was used to organize the data which, then, was submitted to a content analysis process in the thematic modality. Results: Three classes emerged from the content analysis: “Perceptions about the mental health care provided in the city”, “The biomedical paradigm in mental healthcare”, and “Elements for the construction of a new way for professionals to act in mental health”. Final considerations: It was found that, despite the good infrastructure of the services and the elements pointed at by the professionals to create a new way to act, they do not do so, and the responsibility falls, mostly, on the psychologist to carry out these activities.