CARETA, D. S. Quando o ambiente é o abrigo: cuidando das cuidadoras de crianças em acolhimento institucional [When the environment is the shelter: looking after the caregivers of children institutionally sheltered]. Doctoral Thesis – Instituto de Psicologia da USP. São Paulo (SP), 2011. Resumo em Banco de dados Bibliográficos da USP – Dedalus. São Paulo, Sistema Integrado de Bibliotecas da USP.
Available on: doi: 10.11606/T.47.2011.tde-14062011-161730
This study presents the development of psychological practice within the institutional context. It is the psychotherapeutic group intervention with the children’s caregivers in institutional shelters, for two years, developed within the context of the shelters. In our previous study for the Master’s Degree, we identify intense psychic suffering manifested by the team of caregivers, in which we perceive important identifications between the team and the state of anguish the sheltered children are found. In March, 2006, we began weekly psychotherapeutic gatherings with the caregivers of this shelter, until up to the year 2008. Within the group, and at the beginning and the end of each gathering, we apply the Thematic Drawing-and-Story Procedure, to understand the psychic dynamics of the participants in relation with the sheltered children, and also, to help us evaluate the applied intervention. We adopt the Winnicottian Perspective for the notion of health. The experiment reveals, from the very moment the caregivers reach a better emotional contact, with the interiority, that they are able to hold back a great part of the psychic suffering, taking a more lively approach in contacting the exterior reality, expanding the affective contacts. The team of caregivers presents better contact with their own affections; also, presents improvement in the capacity to discriminate against the children under the shelter, which facilitates the relationship in the institutional context. We perceive a change in the subjective reality of the team of caregivers, even though the social reality of the context remains unchanged, and this allows us to consider the efficiency of the psychological intervention with the team of caregivers. Thus, we propose this intervention as a differentiated clinical setting to aid caregivers in shelters.