Les case-managers en santé mentale : des professionnels en quête de définition

In a context often characterized by the compartmentalization of structures and institutions and the need for interfaces between the health, medical and social sectors, case-management is increasingly seen as an appropriate approach, favoring multidimensional and progressive support for the patient in his or her ordinary living environment and enabling better coordination of care and services. However, the representations and implementations of this concept remain multifaceted and a source of confusion. This article aims to analyze various conceptions and practices of case-management and to study the role of the individuals who embody it in the specific field of mental health. Starting from the observation that this concept and its practical variations come essentially from the Anglo-Saxon world, the research seeks to identify the possible specificities in other contexts, based on cases of French and Swiss mental health structures that have implemented case-management systems, and to question the emergence and reality of a new profession in search of a definition.