Sentidos atribuídos à estratégia de redução de danos por estudantes de psicologia: discussões e vivências durante a formação

Abstract

Harm Reduction is a health care strategy that can be applied to address the growing demand from individuals and groups who use substances and access psychosocial and mental health services. This scenario requires Psychology, as both a science and profession, to enhance and expand its knowledge and practices starting from academic training, in order to provide ethical ways of caring in freedom. In this context, this qualitative, descriptive, and comprehensive-interpretive study aims to understand the meanings attributed to the Harm Reduction strategy. We investigated the history of academic experiences and reflected on the practice of this approach through a focus group conducted with 10 students from the Faculty of Psychology at the Federal University of Amazonas. The data, interpreted according to the Method of Interpretation of Meanings, revealed diverse and fragile conceptions about the strategy, as well as important reflections on the university education at this public institution. It is hoped that this research will assist in expanding debates on the topic within the university, contributing to the teaching and research in Health Psychology, and fostering the development of effective training strategies in the context of people who use substances.