Abstract

CARIAS, Antonio Richard  and  GRANATO, Tânia Mara Marques. Professionals Imaginary About Family Care at CAPS AD. Psicol. cienc. prof. [online]. 2025, vol.45, e270977.  Epub June 09, 2025. ISSN 1414-9893.  https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-3703003270977.

Reports by family members of alcohol users are often punctuated by feelings of helplessness and disbelief as to receiving qualified professional help tailored to their needs. As the Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Drug Use (CAPS AD) is the main Brazilian mental health facility that embraces the family, by including them it in the user’s treatment, countless challenges are experienced by the care team in their daily work. For these reasons, this qualitative study investigates the collective imaginary of CAPS AD professionals about caring for family members by means of psychoanalytic methodology. We individually interviewed 13 CAPS AD professionals using interactive narrative (NI) investigative resources. After completing the NI outcome, each participant recalled emblematic experiences of caring for family members. Transferential Narratives (NT) were created to describe the interviews in their affectation. The narrative material, composed by NI and NT, was analyzed using the psychoanalytical method. Interpretative analysis revealed two fields of affective-emotional meaning that reveal the participants’ collective imaginary: one, entitled “Putting Out Fires,” brings about the care strategies used to alleviate the emotional crisis of family members dealing with interpersonal conflicts or decompensation in the user’s health; the other, “The Weight of Ashes,” alludes to the challenges faced by professionals due to the chronic or existential suffering experienced by the family. We wove reflections on the interventions used, the emotional suffering of professionals and the necessary inclusion of family members in the daily routine of CAPS AD.

Keywords : Alcohol Use Disorder; Family; Qualitative Research; Psychoanalysis.

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