OBJECTIVE: to know the expectations of family members of alcoholics living in rural areas under treatment in a Psychiatric Hospitalization Unit.
METHOD: qualitative research, through interviews with 15 relatives of alcoholics living in rural areas and hospitalized in a Psychiatric Unit. Information was interpreted in the light of Phenomenological Sociology.
RESULTS: two concrete categories emerged: Expectations that the family member quits using alcohol and Projects of family members for the alcoholic after discharge. Relatives expected the alcoholic to maintain abstinence and planned post-discharge care, which involved everything from welcoming them to projects with a prospect of control or even fear of not being able to care for the alcoholic. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: most participants have positive expectations regarding psychiatric hospitalization, but some relatives are not confident about caring for the alcoholic and mentioned alternatives such as hiring a caregiver or nursing homes.