Suicide is the second cause of death in Italy in young people between 15 and 24 years old

Soleterre: “Insert psychologist in every Italian hospital department”. Italy ranks last in Europe for healthcare spending dedicated to mental health

ROME – The number of psychologists active in National health system it is much lower than the needs expressed by the Italian population. With 2.38 psychologists per 100 thousand inhabitants in counseling centers and 2.2 psychologists per 100 thousand inhabitants in public hospitals, we are very far from having 1 psychologist per 1,500 inhabitants, a report that numerous sector studies indicate is necessary. In Italy, psychological and psychotherapeutic activities, especially those dedicated tochildhood and to theadolescence they are treated as a luxury good and are not considered essential. For this reason the Soleterre Foundationwhich has been fighting for over 22 years so that the right to health is effectively recognized and exercised and not a privilege for the few, launch a campaignpresented today in Rome at the Press Room of the Chamber of Deputies, so that a psychologist is inserted in every Italian hospital department, with a scholarship or annual specialization, aimed in the long term at permanent structuring by the National Health System. This type of engagement allows for stable and continuous patient care over time, a necessary condition for true patient care.

THE NUMBERS

The numbers speak clearly: There is a real psychological emergency underwaywhich mainly concerns the emotional distress of young people. In Italy, 6 out of 10 children under six years old and 7 out of 10 over six years old show psycho-behavioral problemswith the risk of developing more severe disorders three times greater than pre-pandemic; 50% of psychiatric pathologies begin before the age of 14 And Suicide is the second cause of death in Italy in young people between 15 and 24 years old, preceded only by road accidents. Furthermore, 36% of teenagers say they feel sad (sample interviewed by Soleterre-Emg Different in 2021) e 17.3% of adolescents think that it would be better to die or that they want to harm themselves almost every day or more than half of the days (sample interviewed by Soleterre-Emg Different in 2021).
More than 1 in 4 Italians say that their mental well-being has worsened in the last 3 years And 49% of those who resorted to psychotherapy had to interrupt or reduce sessions due to financial unsustainability. In the case of oncological disease, only 1 in 5 adults receives psychological help.
The number of hospital psychologists is scarce and the majority of psycho-oncological services in hospital settings is entrusted to precarious professionals, with contracts renewed from year to year or with scholarships supported by the Third Sector. For example, out of 82 psychologists present in Italian pediatric oncology, only 28% have a permanent employment contract. This trend obviously weighs on both the quality of life of professionals and the possibility of guaranteeing stable paths for patients and their families.
All this also significantly affects the fight against childhood cancer: psychological support is half the cure. There is evidence that greater mental well-being corresponds to higher recovery rates. For this reason Soleterre has created a psychological support network for families with children with cancer and chronic pathologies so that no sick child should be left alone. However, a public commitment is essential so that the support of healthcare professionals is guaranteed to patients and families within hospitals mental health to reduce the impact of cancer and of chronic diseases in developmental age. The network will be necessary until psychologists are structured in all Italian pediatric departments and there is free access to local psychological support services.

To achieve these goals important are needed investments at a national level since To date, Italy ranks among the last in Europe for the share of healthcare spending dedicated to mental health with particularly lacking resources for hospital and local services child neuropsychiatry who in recent years are facing a real emergency (Source: Italian Society of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry – Sinpia). Specifically, Soleterre therefore requests that an investment program be created to bring spending on hospital and local child neuropsychiatry services from the current 3.4% to 10% of overall healthcare spending.

“During 2024,” he said the founder and president of the Soleterre Foundation, Damiano Rizzi– we remembered Franco Basaglia. It saddens us to see how far we are falling behind in terms of public health policies compared to his insights. Our society is ready and is acquiring more and more awareness about the importance of mental health, politics also needs to welcome this request for attention and help. The basic psychologist should be a right for everyone, like the general practitioner. It would avoid many negative consequences due to lack of psychological supportfrom the feminicide to the developmental and cognitive problems“. “The psychologist – he concluded – is also fundamental in the treatment of childhood cancer. There is evidence that greater mental well-being corresponds to higher recovery rates. We believe there can be no health without mental health and it is no longer acceptable that in various situations of need it is necessary to pay to access psychological support, it is a clear and very serious violation of thearticle 32 of our Constitution“.

COUNTRYSIDE

Thanks to the information support from Rai For Sustainability – Esg, until 21 April 2024, the new SMS campaign by Fondazione Soleterre ‘A national network of psychological support for families with children suffering from cancer. No child with cancer should be left alone’ to finance scholarships/specialisations for young psychologists within the departments of pediatric oncology, with the aim of achieving their permanent structuring by the NHS in the long term. This is a first step to address the issue at a national level and bring it into public debate and to the attention of political decision makers. The visual of the Soleterre Foundation text message campaign was created by the creative agency Different, which is also working on the creation of the campaign on the psychologist at a national level for Soleterre.