Literature review on the health of psychologists working in public health services

Abstract

Psychology professionals listen to the pain of others, but they are also subjects who suffer. Based on my experience as a psychologist working in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), and on how this involves suffering and exhaustion, my aim in this article is to conduct a literature review on the health of psychologists in public health services. The theoretical framework of this research is grounded in decolonial feminist epistemologies and in the understanding that the work of psychologists is embedded in a colonial matrix of power, being, and knowledge (Quijano, 2005). The results indicate that the working conditions and relationships of psychologists in public health services harm their health, generating suffering or actual illness. Information on psychologists’ intersectional issues such as gender, class, race, and sexuality reveals how coloniality is present in science and, in this case, in the scientific production on the health of psychology professionals. Developing work and projects that focus on the health of psychologists working in SUS and on strategies to cope with harmful contexts can contribute to improving user care, enhancing the quality of life of workers (including psychologists), as well as to the better functioning of the Unified Health System.