Abstract

FERRACIOLI, Natália; RODRIGUES, Elaine; OLIVEIRA-CARDOSO, Érika  and  SANTOS, Manoel Antônio dos. The hidden individual: mental health professionals and the work with suicidal behavior. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2022, vol.23, n.2, pp.382-389.  Epub Sep 30, 2022. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/22psd230204.

Recurrent contact with patients who present suicidal behavior often elicits extreme feelings in healthcare professionals, which tend to be invisibilized. We conducted a literature review with the aim of synthesize and reinterpret findings from primary qualitative studies about the experience of mental health professionals in assisting people with suicidal behavior. An open timeline literature review was conducted using the SPIDER structured search strategy and the PRISMA protocol to retrieve evidence from PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and LILACS databases. Two reviewers independently screened and assessed the methodological quality of the articles, extracted the data, and prepared the thematic synthesis; 852 articles were identified between 2005 and 2021, among which 21 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the sample of this review. The results were organized into three descriptive themes: (1) Emotional impact of facing disturbing experiences in professional practice; (2) The other side of the coin: the encounter with favorable experiences; (3) Emotional implications of work for personal and professional life. Based on these central themes, the analytical theme was elaborated: Between sweet and bitter: personal and professional transformations experienced in the care of people with suicidal behavior. We concluded that professionals experience ambivalent feelings while working with the population vulnerable to suicidal risk, which have repercussions and generate significant transformations in personal and professional life. The results contribute to multiprofessional training, in order to include emotional care to professionals in postvention programs, in order to prevent possible complications arising from exposure to the grieving process.

Keywords : Health professional; Suicide; Suicidal ideation; Mental health; Literature review.

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