Do cuidado do outro ao cuidado de si: redefinições do Self por psicólogos em contextos de desastre

Abstract

This is a study about the humanitarian work of psychologists in disaster contexts. It is common that these professionals face the challenge of experiencing disasters under the social expectation that they must offer care to the affected population and, at the same time, need to deal with changes in their lives inherent to the contact with the cultures and spaces in which their missions take place. According to the perspective of the dialogical self, the self of each subject is made up of several voices or I-positions that dialogue among themselves and coexist, often under tension. In the case of these professionals, it is expected the emergence of positions such as: I-caregiver, I-psychologist, I-recently-employed, I-professional, I-husband/wife, I-father/mother, I-foreigner, among others. This paper has, then, as a general objective, to analyze how psychologists configure their self in the sphere of experience of humanitarian work in disaster contexts. Its specific objectives are: to identify the main I-positions occupied by these professionals; to analyze the dynamics of interaction between these I-positions, considering their boundaries, tensions and mediations; to analyze how transitive and intransitive changes are experienced, emphasizing redefinitions in the self; and to investigate how these professionals make use of resources to promote the continuity of their self. This research, of qualitative nature, brings, in its design, a study of three individual cases, of systemic and idiographic nature, whose data were analyzed in the light of Cultural Psychology of Semiotic Orientation. Three female psychologists, who work in an international Non-Governmental Organization, called Humanitarian Around the World – HAW, that provides health care and promotes humanitarian missions in disaster contexts, participated in the study. These participants were selected by convenience and independently, that is, without the co-participation of the institution where they work. The documents used for consultation and analysis were logbooks, mission notes, media interviews, photos, and videos produced by the participants with their consent. The instruments adopted here, in turn, were the Sociodemographic Questionnaire and the Narrative Interview. Initially, the participants had their logbooks, media interviews, and mission notes read, and their videos and photos appreciated, in order to provide data for the elaboration of questions in the question phase of the narrative interview. Finally, they underwent the narrative interview, in which them were asked to narrate their life experiences since they had been admitted to HAW. The interviews lasted 2h6min, 2h5min, and 1h16min, respectively. Once constructed and transcribed, the data were then subjected to a narrative analysis from the perspective of Cultural Psychology and studies on the humanitarian performance of psychologists in disaster contexts. In the cases analyzed, it was possible to observe a centrality of the I-humanitarian, I-psychologist and I-caregiver positions in relation to the others. This centrality, however, was made more flexible by positions related to family and self-care, in a dynamic that allows a continuous flow of tension in the analyzed systems. This flow was accompanied by the use of important resources, such as friendships, interpreters, and institutional norms, which had inestimable relevance in the trajectory of each interviewee. From the discussions here promoted, it is expected to encourage further studies on the theme, especially regarding the understanding of the practices and experiences of each professional, given the plurality with which they present themselves.