Suffering-Pleasure: Dynamics of Work of Mental Health Professionals Public of a Psychiatric Hospital

Abstract

This article discusses the dynamics of the work done by mental health professionals in a public psychiatric hospital of Rio Grande do Sul, and its implications related to suffering and pleasure. The theoretical-methodological subsidy used was the Psychodynamics at Work. Data were collected through pre-research and meetings with the group of workers, constituted of professionals working in inpatient units for acute patients. It was verified that they use collective defensive strategy and collective strategies of health. However, such strategies operate in a conservative model because they do not change the way work is organized but just allow minimizing the suffering and getting some pleasure.