Mental health professionals are particularly vulnerable to stress, considering the characteristics of the work they develop. The purpose of this study was to assess the manifestation of stress, self-perception of stress, and stressing work factors in substitutive mental health service professionals. Twenty-five workers, working for at least six months, took part in the study. The instruments employed were Lipp's Inventory of Stress Symptoms in Adults and a Complementary Script. Quantitative data were treated by descriptive statistics, and the remaining data were analyzed qualitatively. It was observed that 36.0% of the professional had stress manifestations, and 44.0% perceived they were under stress. Work conditions and relationships at work were the most frequent factors associated to the perception of being under stress. In conclusion, professionals experience stressors associated with the changes implied in the psychosocial paradigm of care. Thus, there is a need to make direct interventions toward the development of coping strategies in stressing occupational situations.
Stress; burnout; workers
