Social representations of the madness of multidisciplinary teams in Brazil

Abstract

Social representations are constituted as complex phenomena that persistently impel themselves in social life and consist of informative, cognitive, ideological and regulated recapitulations (Jodelet, 1989). To describe the social representations of madness among multidisciplinary teams that treat mentally ill patients, highlighting their professional actions in Psychosocial Care Centers. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out with a mixed research method, with a qualitative and quantitative approach. The development of the research was carried out, based on forty-nine (49) professionals in the area of mental health, who work in Psychosocial Care Centers of the Northeast Region and South Region of Brazil. The instruments of sociodemographic questionnaire, free word association technique, in-depth interview and informed consent were used. The most representative and evoked words by the participants regarding the social representations of madness have been "User", "Patient", "Mental" and to a lesser degree "Person", "Family", "Society", " Treatment "," Care "and" Equipment ", denoting a focus on the affected person over their health and treating team. The results of the in-depth interviews are organized into six categories. The theme of madness becomes so strong that it permeates the imaginary in the social field and in the gaze towards the man who constitutes himself as the bearer of that madness. The multiple meanings go through the professionals who work with these users with a low implication and marked by difficulties that include little training on the subject.