Greeted with opposing skepticism (useless or insufficient), the psychologist bonus launched in 2022 not only fulfilled its tasks, but also made clear the need to offer a better public health response to mental health disorders. Which often also spill over into the organic one.
These are the conclusions that can be drawn from the data emerging from the PsyCare project, carried out by the National Council of the Order of Psychologists (Cnop) in collaboration with some universities (Milan Bicocca, Bergamo, Catania, Palermo, Pavia and La Sapienza of Rome) which it is proposed to evaluate both the effectiveness on patients of the psychotherapeutic interventions initiated thanks to the bonus, and the economic impact that the bonus itself has generated with a cost-benefit analysis.
«The first data that emerged – observes the president of Cnop, David Lazzari – is that 81% of the new patients who took advantage of the bonus had never turned to a therapist for economic reasons». Not only that, patients recognize that they have benefited: approximately 90% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the psychotherapy sessions, Lazzari reported.
The survey was coordinated by the vice-president of Cnop, Laura Parolin (University of Milan Bicocca): «About 5 thousand therapists and just over 2 thousand patients participated voluntarily (98% with ISEE under 15 thousand euros), three out of four women ( but in terms of access to emergency rooms for mental disorders and services the proportion is evened out)”.
The disorders that emerged, if taken individually, were anxiety (31.82%), depression (9.87%) and personality disorders (5.87%), disorders linked to traumatic events (11.93); if comorbid anxiety and depression (19.75%), traumatic disorders and anxiety (12.07%). It should be noted, underlined Parolin, that “3.6% had attempted suicide at least once”, to which must be added the 6.7% who had carried out parasuicidal behaviors and the 4.6% who had already been hospitalized at least once in the past once due to mental health problems. And another fact that indicates the great existing need is represented by the fact that only 14% of the applications submitted to the INPS were able to be satisfied.
«Even if the data are preliminary, because the evaluations on effectiveness are continuing – noted Gianluca Lo Coco (University of Palermo) – we had an improvement in all the therapeutic outcome indicators that we evaluated in 12 weeks of treatment: psychological discomfort general, symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression, ability to manage one’s emotions”.
And even later, after the end of the treatment (with six-month data), the improvements were maintained, “with a higher figure in those who decided to prolong the therapy”, reported Lo Coco, around 60% of sample: «It is therefore important that the new version of the bonus allows the treatment to be extended», he concluded.
In addition to the impact on health, an evaluation of the strictly economic benefits was also made. «A reduction in absences from work for reasons related to illness and psychological distress of five days per month per person was observed – explained Angelo Compare (University of Bergamo) – which was estimated (based on Eurostat data) to correspond at a value of approximately 1,220 euros”.
Compared to the over 21 thousand patients in therapy who worked, a figure of 312 million euros was calculated, compared to the 25 million that the bonus cost. «If it were extended to the population with psychological distress of working age – said Compare – we would obtain a figure comparable to an annual budget, around 1% of the GDP».
«I believe that the psychologist bonus – concludes President Lazzari – should be seen as the last piece of a triangle of interventions, aimed at improving the psychological well-being of the population: in one corner the basic psychologist working alongside the general practitioner, in the second corner, psychological consultancy in schools to intercept ailments early and promote the resilience of children, and in the third, precisely the bonus, a sort of public investment on a subject, psychotherapies, almost absent in the National Health Service”.
It should not be forgotten, Lazzari finally underlines, that «over the last 20-30 years scientific research has highlighted how much psychological aspects influence people’s health. Also by modulating the genes, therefore the activity of the DNA. Just think that psychological distress is the first risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, double that of cholesterol.”
The success of the psychologist bonus, or the confirmation of a health need to be satisfied, is signaled by the fact that new applications to the INPS, opened on 18 March and which will close on 31 May, have already reached 300 thousand.
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