Atendimento a Mulheres em Situação de Violência: A Experiência de Profissionais de um Creas.

This paper presents results from a qualitative phenomenological research that aimed to understand the experience of professionals who care for women in situation of violence in a Social Assistance Specialized Reference Center (CREAS). After individual dialogical encounters with two psychologists and four social workers, the researcher wrote a comprehensive narrative and a synthesis narrative containing the following significant elements of the experience as a whole: (1) the participants realize that some professionals that are part of the women's care network repeat prejudiced attitudes that contribute to the patients' victimization; (2) the participants do not see themselves as protagonists in the institution's decision making, which leads to feelings of frustration and powerlessness; (3) they develop empathic attitudes and identify with the stories lived by the patients and (4) they seek to assist the women, they feel lonely because of the lack of effective action by the women's care network; still, they value their own work. There is a need for interdisciplinary studies that integrate information about the experience of professionals, patients and authors of violence, in institutions of the care network for women in situation of violence -- in order to help overcome the problems pointed out and improve public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]