A promoção da contratualidade social no trabalho com grupos: um relato de experiência de uma estudante de terapia ocupacional em um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial

Abstract

Social contractuality, as formulated by Benedetto Saraceno, refers to the social conditions that enable individuals to circulate within community spaces, engage in exchanges, and assume socially recognized roles, representing a central goal of Psychosocial Care. Within Brazil’s Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS), group practices and everyday-life-oriented interventions serve as powerful mechanisms for fostering relationships, encouraging the exploration of new occupations, and strengthening connections beyond the institutional setting, which are core elements in the reconstruction of contractual agency. This paper presents an experience report from the perspective of an Occupational Therapy student participating in activities with a user group in a CAPS II, aiming to describe and reflect on how the actions developed within the group contributed to supporting early movements toward social contractuality. Based on records produced throughout the extension project and organized into three intervention scenes, small yet meaningful developments were identified, shaped by shared doing, collective activities, and the strengthening of group identity, elements that mobilized processes of lending contractual power on the part of the team. The analysis of these reconstruction processes, articulated with the literature, showed that these movements emerged primarily within the domains of social networks and work. However, the limited availability of community social spaces and the lack of intersectoral coordination restricted the exercise of contractuality within the dimension of inhabiting everyday community life. The findings reinforce the relevance of group practices in CAPS and highlight the contribution of Occupational Therapy in mediating processes that expand participation and belonging, emphasizing the importance of integrating theory and practice in professional training.