O psicólogo de instituição socioeducativa para pessoas em situação de rua: um estudo sobre sua identidade

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the movement for the constitution of the professional identity of the psychologist who works in social-educational institutions which cater for the homeless population. The theoretical reference adopted was Ciampa s Identity Theory, which conceives it as a metamorphosis. It is a qualitative research with social and historical background. The procedure utilized a reflexive interview to capture the history of the professional psychologist who had worked the longest at a socialeducational institution called hostel, for homeless people in São Paulo City. We observed that the constitution of the identity of the psychologist occurs in the construction of a psychological praxis in which factors such as professional history, educational background, needs and demands from both the institution and the people it serves, social status, as well as personal meanings attributed to those experiences, are determining. The research points out that the identity of the psychologist is constituted in the overcoming of the contradictions between what was prescribed for the work at the institution and the needs imposed by the reality of the individuals served. It is in his activity that the psychologist creates various characters who coexist, take turns or excel, presenting a continuous movement of transformation and metamorphosis which, as a consequence, ends up transforming his working environment and the people which belong in there, whether professionals or users, as well as triggering transformations in the psychology scope, whether as science or profession