Abstract
The aim is to discuss the results of a research that investigated the role of internship, from the students’ perspective, in the training of the psychologist in the Psychology course from the Federal University of Alagoas, Educational Unit of Palmeira dos Índios. It is a field survey, based on a qualitative approach and on Socio-Historical Psychology. We conducted a focus group, which involved the participation of six Psychology students: three of them were performing Basic Internship activities and the other three were executing Specific Internship activities. Two meetings, which lasted at least fifty minutes, were held at the University. At the meetings, the topics covered were: history of the professional training of the Psychology students; discussions about trainings; aspects of internships that contribute to professional training in Psychology; and the relevance of internships for professional training in Psychology. Based on the speeches of the students, a content analysis was performed and three categories were identified: a) insertion in the field; b) internship’s practices; and c) the internship’s results. These results indicate that the internship has an important role to create opportunities for experiences that contribute to the training in Psychology and to allow an approach with the professional practice. With the internship, the trainees have the opportunity to link theory with practice, because when inserted in certain fields, they seek to contextualize the theory and the discussions in the classroom with the reality found in institutions and communities.
Internship; Psychologist Professional Training; Socio-Historical Psychology