History of Psychology in social services: narratives of professionals who worked before and after the implementation of SUAS

• Grant number: 21/02530-3
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: August 01, 2021 - July 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Social Psychology
• Principal researcher: Mariana Prioli Cordeiro
• Grantee: Mariana Prioli Cordeiro
• Home Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

With the implementation of the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) in 2005, the number of psychologists working in social services increased enormously - to the point that, today, we can say that it constitutes an important field of employment for the profession. However, it is not a new phenomenon. After all, for decades, these professionals have been working in communities, shelters, services aimed at the inclusion of people with disabilities or at children in situations of violence, etc. Despite all this history, the idea that Psychology "parachuted" into social services remains quite widespread today. The scarce literature on earlier interventions and the virtual absence of discussions on the subject in undergraduate courses until the early 2010s contributed to this phenomenon. In this research, I seek to contribute to "deconstruct" this idea, and to this end, I will conduct a literature/documentary review and interview psychologists who worked in social services before and after the implementation of SUAS. By giving visibility to the narratives of these professionals, I will seek to answer the following questions: 1) Which were the main social services, programs and projects that had psychologists in their technical teams before the implementation of SUAS?; 2) What were the practices performed and/or the functions exercised by these professionals?; 3) What were the main difficulties, conflicts and contradictions that these professionals encountered in their work?; 4) How do they understand the changes brought by the current social assistance policy to their daily work? And 5) How do they understand the contributions of Psychology to the construction and implementation of SUAS? (AU)