VIVÊNCIAS COTIDIANAS DE FAMILIARES CUIDADORES DE USUÁRIOS DE UM CENTRO DE ATENÇÃO PSICOSSOCIAL INFANTOJUVENIL – CAPSi

Abstract

The current Brazilian child and youth mental health policy, driven by the guiding principles of the Unified Health System, the Statute of the Child and Adolescent, and the precepts of the Psychiatric Reform, proposes a new form of psychosocial care based on a territorial and community model, replacing to asylum and restrictive models through the Centers for Psychosocial Child and Adolescent Care (CAPSi). CAPSi provide daily care to children and adolescents with severe and persistent mental disorders and consider the family as a partner in the process of psychosocial rehabilitation of individuals. Studies indicate that having a family adolescent with psychic suffering brings to the family caregiver a series of physical, emotional, economic and social burdens. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the daily experiences of family caregivers of adolescents attending a CAPSi in. To achieve this goal, five interviews were conducted with family carers of adolescents. For data collection, a sociodemographic questionnaire was used with information on personal, health and clinical data, and a semi-structured interview script. The analyzed narratives were systematized following the Content Analysis proposal. In this way, the analysis of the speeches presented revealed three thematic categories: changes experienced in the life of the familiar caretaker, coming from the treatment of the adolescent; emotional experiences and understanding about the role of the family caregiver before the treatment of the adolescent. Among the daily experiences identified, we highlight the routine changes and accumulation of daily tasks, abandonment of professional activities due to the need to dedicate to the adolescent in treatment; feelings of sadness, guilt and powerlessness, as well as stress and irritability. In addition, it has been identified that family caregivers are not clear about their role in treatment and what happens to their children. The results point to the presence of emotional distress of family members in their daily life in the care of their children, as well as difficulties in coping with and managing the treatment, and concerns about the social stigmas that still exist in view of the presence of mental disorder in the adolescent. The study indicates the need to think about strategies that include more effective proposals that allow greater participation of these family members as care partners, as well as the offer of psychological assistance aimed at improving the quality of life and mental health of these family caregivers.