O CONTATO COM A FINITUDE: Impactos da morte na formação subjetiva de estagiários de psicologia

Death is a universal and inevitable experience, traversing human existence at different moments in the life cycle. The biomedical model of healing results in dilemmas and attempts to overcome the limits of care, preserving life at all costs and viewing death as failure and frustration. It is observed that academic training in the health field is insufficient to understand death and the dying process, causing difficulties in managing suffering and dealing with finitude in a distant way. To understand the experience lived by psychology interns facing terminal illness, analyzing their emotional adjustments and the meanings attributed to the process of death and dying in the hospital context. Qualitative research conducted in a reference hospital in the city of Recife-Pernambuco, with 10 final-year Psychology students on hospital internships. Data collection took place in June 2025, through a sociodemographic questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, with thematic analysis according to Minayo. The number of participants was limited by the content saturation criterion, according to Turato. The reports revealed feelings of sadness, helplessness, and ambivalence, intensified by the therapeutic bond. The presence of spirituality and strategies such as writing, supervision, personal therapy, and rituals was observed. The absence of institutional support can generate emotional overload. Difficulty in emotional management in the face of the patient's death was observed. The therapeutic bond proved to be fundamental, but it also potentiates suffering, highlighting the importance of welcoming spaces and academic preparation.