Terapia comunitária integrativa: uma contribuição na busca de sentido de vida para as pessoas idosas

Abstract

This study investigated the contribution of integrative community therapy (TCI) in the search of life’s meaning among elderly people. It’s an exploratory research with a qualitative approach. Both direct observation and were used as instruments for data collection. To analyze data, we opted for the use of the Iramuteq software, the content analysis criteria and the methodological-theory referenced for this end, especially Viktor Frankl’s and Adalberto Barreto’s theories. Five TCI members from São Francisco community took part in the research. The abundance of data indicates that self-realization, regardless of age, is an expression of a meaningful life. The research results also reveal TCI relevance, insofar as it points to the possibility of a preventive approach both in elderly caring and community groups. TCI belief is that healing capacity lies in the self-transcending movement of these people or groups in the pursuit of life’s meaning. From this scenario it is possible to infer that research objectives were achieved when it showed changes in the way the contributors conduct their lives with meaning thanks to TCI. The aging process reveals itself as a new and urgent question nowadays. Trust in elderly people potential is a yet to be done task in contemporary society.