A atuação do Serviço Social na saúde mental: condições de trabalho e demandas profissionais no contexto de crise sanitária da Covid-19

Abstract

This present thesis aims to comprehend the role of Social Services in Mental Health, in what refers to their work conditions and their professional challenges within the COVID-19 health crisis. As to the methodological procedures used, a qualitative quantitative research was conducted, through a bibliographic research, including authors like: Netto (2012), Iamamoto (2002), Soares (2010), Costa (2016), among others. A documental research was also conducted, according to the orientations given by the Federal Counsel of Social Services - CFESS, the social worker's parameters of performance in health (2009), the Health Department of the state of Alagoas, among others. Our analysis was also enriched by an explorative research, with the use of statistical data from the National Health Department (2020), World Health Organization (2020), Panamerican Health Organization (2020) and an account of a social worker from a CAPS health unit in the city of Maceió/AL. This way, a reflective and critical analysis was conducted about the trajectory of Social Work within the Mental Health Field until the present day, presenting it's positive and negative experiences, drawing attention to the professional conditions of the social worker and their challenges. The role of Social Work in Mental Health is the final result of a long historical trajectory of struggles and accomplishments in their field, along with the Psychiatric Reform, which challenges even more the professional, which acts directly with the most socially disenfranchised part of the population, especially individuals suffering from mental disorder. This being a policy which has suffered a tremendous setback, concerning the pillars of a more humanistic national mental health plan, originating from Brazilian governments, by bringing the return of manicomial logic, the depreciation of public clinics and the dismantling of obtained rights, conquered after so much struggle. Based on the account of a social worker from the CAPS health unit in the city of Maceió/AL, we can conclude that the presence of the social worker is essential to the Mental Health field, due to its interventional aspect within the dialectic process of the psychosocial approach of each individual, along with their families, the integral function of the psychosocial health units and the multi-interdisciplinary intervention, focusing on the search for means of viability in quality, continuity and efficacy of the treatment process, under the perspective of the law. In order that, within the current pandemic context, the professional challenges, characterized by the social vulnerability/risk, tend to increase and diversify amidst the Covid-19 health crisis. Much like the professional requisites that go beyond what can be defined by law and ethics, contributing to the many challenges which the professional faces amidst the pandemic reality, contributing to the scarce work conditions.