Psychology and Social Policies: Memory, History, and Production of the Present Time

   CONTENTS  

Attention to public policies and professional memory

The Research Group on Psychology and Social Policies: Memory, History, and Production of the Present Time is notable because its purpose is to study the planning, management, and assessment of the processes applied to the training of professionals and the implementation of public policies in the field of healthcare. The group also approaches the history of psychology, a field that is systematically included in all the group’s research projects.

Some of the group’s studies include the analysis of the meanings of health and social control from the perspective of users, the experience and training of the professionals acting in assistance at the Centers for Psychosocial Assistance, and the study of strategies to perform effective matrix support to mental health in the primary care setting.

The group also studies interdisciplinary and intersectoral dynamics to make the stipulations of the Federal Constitution of 1988 efficacious in regard to the Unified Health System (SUS) and seeks to develop a concept of health care management that reflects this system. The methods applied include research of documents, analysis of managerial practices, and interviews with health care technicians and users in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The results may provide a baseline for strategies aimed at qualifying the services provided to the population.

The group integrates the Research Nucleus Narratives on time, space, image, and identities (Natesid), which conducts academic activities focused on the interaction between social policies, daily life, and social psychology. One of the projects developed by Natesid includes the production of a documentary to discuss the status of women in the present time.

The group’s chair, Professor Helena Beatriz Scarparo, is a member of the Ibero-American Network of Researchers on the History of Psychology, which enables exchanges, partnerships, and consulting activities, such as the one that collaborated with the Regional and Federal Psychology Councils during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the official recognition of this profession in Brazil. Research projects and the organization of events are performed in collaboration with other higher education institutions, such as the State University of Rio Grande do Sul, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and Federal University of Santa Catarina.