Ferimentos autoinfligidos

: a perspetiva do psicólogo

Abstract

Self-inflicted injuries can be defined as the deliberate and self-inflicted destruction ofbody tissues without suicidal intent. Psychologists have an important role in the treatment ofthis problem in order to reduce or eliminate injuries presented by users. However, since thereis no specific treatment model to treat self-inflicted injuries that presents empirical evidence,there may be some uncertainty about the approaches to be used by professionals, giving thepsychologist the responsibility to perceive and select the various models for the treatment inthat specific case. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to understand self-inflictedinjuries from the psychologist's perspective. While the specific objectives are to explore thepsychologists 'understanding of the etiology of self-inflicted injuries, to identify and analyzethe models of the most used psychological approach and the main difficulties experienced inclinical work and to explore the psychologists' perceptions of the key elements in the work withindividuals who have self-inflicted injuries. The sample consisted of 9 female psychologists,aged 28-43 years. All participants are registered in Ordem dos Psicologos Portugueses. Datacollection was carried out through a semi-structured interview, which explores theconceptualization of self-inflicted injuries and the treatment models used in cases of selfinflictedinjuries. The interviews were analyzed according to the consensual qualitative analysismethod. The results showed that there is consensus in the definition of FAI, which areconsidered an act of self-harm without suicidal ideation, which is in accordance with theliterature. As the most effective models, behavioral dialectical therapy and the Human BehaviorMap model were found. While the most used models are cognitive behavioral therapy and theHuman Behavior Map. As the main treatment challenges, participants referred to the emotionalmanagement of the process / countertransference, that the psychologist should not projectsomething on the user, Manage the therapeutic relationship in which the psychologist mustmanage the relationship in order to avoid misunderstandings and put users at ease to shareinformation, self-regulation of the user in which the user does not feel comfortable to shareinformation and difficulties in working with families, in which participants find it difficult tomanage the family as co-therapists. In this way, the psychologist must be able to overcomethese challenges and have a good theoretical basis to carry out an effective intervention.

Date of Award	22 Mar 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Armanda Gonçalves (Supervisor)