Critical positions and professional tensions in a gender-based violence psychosocial care service

Abstract

In this article, we propose to understand the tensions that occur in the psychosocial intervention in gender violence, identifying the positions adopted by professionals in a gender-based violence care service in Catalonia. The concepts of governmentality and dispositive allow us to critically analyze the functioning of psychosocial intervention. In methodological terms, it is a qualitative approach through a case study, in which we conducted six in-depth interviews and a discussion group with professionals working in a gender-based violence care service. Thematic analysis reveals three main tensions into professional practice: the institutional apparatus, the specialization of the gender violence intervention, and the intervener-intervened relationship. We conclude that, in the face of these tensions, the professionals generate resistance such as the flexibility position, which makes it possible to disarticulate the homogenization, discipline and standardization of the dispositive of gender-based violence care service.