The traineeship in the ER: looking at the relationship between clients and structure. An intervention under construction in a context without tradition of psychological function.

Abstract

The authors propose a reflection on psychological function in the ER, a hospital context that does not have a tradition about it. From clinical situations encountered during the traineeship, some hypotheses are presented about the culture that organizes an ER. The perspective used in this investigation considers what is a critical issue in the relationship between the department and its clients. The paper also proposes a categorization referred to the clinical psychological intervention at the ER, through the constructs of de- reification and interpretation. According to this model the clinical psychological intervention at ER is based on interpretation: through psychological interventions that are simple interpretative actions, you operate a de- reification of what, in the hospital context of emergency, is quickly materialized as a thing of individual, to accept the emotional dimension regarding the client-service relationship instead. By means of this paper, the authors wonder about the usefulness and modalities of participation of a psychological function to the host activities of the ER.