Family Therapy in a Case of Domestic Violence: Assistance in the SUS

Abstract

This study aimed to show the clinical experience of a psychologist who performs Family Therapy in a public mental health clinic in a city of Rio de Janeiro state. The experience report highlights the importance of multidisciplinary and intersectoral work carried out in the care network as a strategy to specifically achieve greater resolution in clinical cases. To exemplify the experience, the clinical case of Vivian's family was presented: Brazilian, Afro-descendant, low socioeconomic level, dependent on essential public services and experiencing a domestic violence crisis. Family therapy focused on the mother-child subsystem in order to stimulate the existing resources among the members, aiming at mutual support in the widely adverse context of the beginning of the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic. At a time of family restructuring, the mother chose for the protection of their children, breaking a 17-year relationship ruled by oppression and violence. In the contingency of the Covid-19 pandemic, the therapeutic bond with the psychologist and the articulation with other professionals in the intersectoral network made it possible to provide emergency care to this family through regular sessions, including remote care.