Maynier Valentin

PhD student in Sociology, EHESS

Doctoral school : 286 - Savoirs en sociétés

Contact: valentin.maynier(at)ehess.fr

 

 

Dissertation title : Psychologists’ role in the illness trajectories of children between 6 and 11 years old in  psychological suffering  during the COVID-19 period

Under the direction of Myriam Winance

This thesis is placed at the crossroads of the sociology of professions, the sociology of childhood and the sociology of mental health. It studies the way in which children's malaise that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic is thought of and treated by psychologists and by the parents of these children. We hypothesize that the evolution of the role of psychologists (e.g. through reimbursement policies) is indicative of a set of mutations in the field of child psychiatry, notably in the division of care work, the medicalization of child malaise and the conceptions of this malaise.

In this thesis, we address the care trajectories of children in situations of psychological suffering, the representations that parents have of this suffering and the care practices of psychologists. We conduct interviews with psychologists, with parents of children suffering from mental illness and observations in care settings.