Representações sociais da Psicoterapia e Qualidade de vida: Um estudo comparativo entre pessoas idosas que fazem Psicoterapia e aquelas que não fazem no contexto da pandemia da Covid-19

Abstract

Bearing in mind the increase of elderly population and the new conceptions about human aging, the psychotherapeutic area became more favorable to the elderly demands. This research, within a qualitative approach of exploratory character, directed its interest to psychotherapy with elderly people, having as general objective apprehending and comparing social representations about psychotherapy in old age, life quality and the Covid-19 pandemic between elderly people who passed by psychotherapy and those who didn't. As specific objectives: To analyze the Covid-19 Pandemic social representations between older people who pass by psychotherapy and those who don't; To compare the psychotherapy social representations in old age of elderly who pass by psychotherapy and those who don't; To understand the old age life quality social representations among elderly people who pass by psychotherapy and those who don’t; Develop a Psychotherapy Informative booklet in old age. As a basis was used the theory of Social Representations, using a sociodemographic questionnaire, applying the Words Free Association Test- WFAT and the semi-structured interview as instruments of data collection. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed by the SPSS Software, the WFAT and the semi-structured interview, analyzed by the Descending Hierarchical Classification in the IRAMUTEQ. The results pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic was a negative event that brought several damages in the emotional and psychological field to elderly according to the social representations to both, the elderly who do psychotherapy, and for those who don't. Elderly is still not used to passing by Psychotherapy, that still is poorly known by them, and bring their social representations, tagged by prejudice and lack of information. Older adults in psychotherapy took a more positive stance in face of the difficulties faced in the Covid-19 pandemic and presented a better assessment of their quality of life, even in adverse situations, which makes it possible to understand that, for the elderly in psychotherapy, it acts as a support to tolerate crisis situations and improve quality of life.