The senses of the kitchen of Psychosocial Care Centers and nutritionists performance in mental health care

Abstract

As a product of Psychiatric and Health Reforms, Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS) have emerged as devices to elaborate the reinsertion of psychiatric patients in society. In this context, the nutritionists gained space in the Brazilian Unified Health System and CAPS, specifically. Aimed to analyze the senses of the kitchen in three NN CAPS, the professional performance of nutritionists. Opted for the analytical essay and the theoretical assumptions of Expanded Clinical as a starting point, since it understands clinical practice as an experience of exchange of knowledge between subjects; mutual accountability, in addition to the food-nutritional field as a complex problem. The discussion was systematized in two moments: Among pans, tensions, knowledge and flavors: the kitchen as a therapeutic space; and CAPS: challenges for professional qualification and performance of the nutritionist. The analysis looks at the kitchen as a social space discussing the continuity of the nutritionist's performance in mental health care shaped by the biomedical model, a decontextualized practice. In conclusion, the essay did not seek answers or definitive statements, but it did raise the possibility to reflect on the practice of nutritionists at CAPS, contributing to the consolidation of the proposals of Psychosocial Care.