GENDER CONCEPTIONS AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

The Reflection about gender in both professional performance and teaching of the graduate courses significantly contributes to thinking new ways of instrumentalizing practices. Masculinity and femininity models keep and are kept by sexist speeches in different settings, including the health context. The notion of a female predisposition to physical and emotional disorders, based on social patterns of frailty, culminated in the creation of health specialties aimed at preventing such illness. The male, permeated by notions of resistance and strength, has become a synonymous of healthy body, reaffirming the male dominance and the political and economic role of men, influencing their distancing from the cares with health. This study investigated the concepts of 05 active psychologists in hospital and outpatient contexts about gender and health relations through semi-structured interviews and content analysis. The data confirm other research findings in the health field by indicating the gendering process of the health practices and its possible effects in the care provided. The results may contribute to the discussion of the psychological care provided and the gender relations and contribute to a training addressing gender issues in an interdisciplinary way.