Gênero e cuidado na Atenção Psicossocial: o cotidiano de mulheres cuidadoras em um CAPS no Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the care relationships within the framework of Psychosocial Attention, considering the central role of female figures as primary caregivers for users of the Psychosocial Care Network (RAPS). Understanding that the management of this care is shared with the State, we hypothesized that the reformulation of mental health policy is grounded in and reinforces the historical feminization of caregiving, strongly influenced by racialization and intersected by class and territorial inequalities. The overall objective of this research was to investigate the process of familiarization and feminization of care within the RAPS through an ethnographic study in a CAPS, observing the daily lives of women caregivers in this service. Among the specific objectives, we sought to investigate their role in mental health care management, pointing out the discussions regarding gender, care, and labor, while observing convergences and divergences between native and analytical categories. Furthermore, we aimed to reflect on the relationship between mental health policy and state management of care as mechanisms for gender regulation. The analyses were conducted through participant observation in a CAPS III in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. The field research focused on the collective spaces of the CAPS, particularly interactions and collective activities involving caregivers, such as the CAPS assembly, family group, and peer support group. The research findings highlight how these women, from diverse social backgrounds, respond to this caregiving mandate, forming alliances and mutual support relationships, including the expansion of their support and care networks within the community. These relationships, however, also involve tensions and discursive disputes, underpinning the political commitment to providing care for individuals experiencing psychological distress within the community.