Abstract
Currently, it is possible to find multiple aspects in the meaning attributed to the practice of Welcoming services, especially those described in the guidelines of the Brazilian National Humanization Policy (PNH). In the context of psychological practices, however, the meanings and characteristics of Welcoming services are not sufficiently explored in the literature. Considering this theoretical gap, this study aimed to investigate, through semi-structured interviews with psychologists who work in hospitals in a city in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil, the meanings attributed to Welcoming services in their professional routine. The content analysis of the interviews resulted in six thematic categories, grouped in the central axis “Welcoming services as posture” and thus named: conduct, bonding, subjectivity rescue, listening, personal attributes and empathy. The results indicated that the interviewees emphasize Welcoming services as a practice that exists primarily in a relational aspect, in which the psychologist-user relationship is valued and the listening of subjectivity is privileged. They also considered that the effectiveness of Welcoming services requires the development of special listening skills by the psychologist. It is noteworthy that other aspects of Welcoming services were not addressed in the PNH as tasks that also fit the psychologist to perform, such as those that are focused on aspects of work management and accountability for monitoring the flow of users in the health system.
Welcoming services; Professional-patient relations; Single health system; Hospital psychology
