This work analyses the relationship between social representations and social practices, with a focus on the psychologist's professional activity in a specific and recent context: that of the Centros de Referência de Assistência Social - CRAS (Social Assistance Reference Centres). We investigate the social representations psychologists users have towards psychologists and their relationship with the practices of these professionals in Sergipe's CRASs. In order to accomplish this, two studies were carried out: one with 27 psychologists working in the CRASs; and another with 20 users of this service. The results revealed, in the first study, dissociation between what the professionals declared their practices to be and the perception of such practices from other psychologists' perspectives. In the second study, it was possible to demonstrate that the representation of psychology is still associated to the psychologist's role in the clinical area, having conversation and counsel as their fundamental practices. Such representations are related to both the user perceptions of the psychologists' practices as well as with the real practices adopted by the CRAS psychologists.
Psychology; Professional identity; Role perception; Social representation
