Offer concrete help for the psychological well-being of people who have experienced the latest flood events in Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Marche. This is the objective of the second edition of the project ‘Living Better’ by Enpapthe national welfare and assistance body for psychologists, which promotes access to psychological interventions for anxiety and depression.
During the presentation press conference at Palazzo del Pegaso, the majority vice president of the Regional Council underlined how this is an important project for the citizens of the Tuscany region with the opportunity for free psychological assistance, fundamental for those who have suffered a traumatic event such as flood. As a Legislative Assembly, he concluded, we have a duty to highlight a campaign like this.
The project, entirely financed by Enpap, carried out in collaboration with the most prestigious Italian universities and which this year makes use of the collaboration of the FIMMG (Italian Federation of General Practitioners) is open to all the peoplebut citizens who have experienced a traumatic event such as the latest floods will be offered 1,600 complete interventions of psychological counseling or psychotherapy, 600 will concern the Tuscan provinces of Florence, Livorno, Pisa, Pistoia and Prato. Vouchers for free treatments with psychologists can be used by accessing the site.
Felice Damiano Torricelli Enpap president illustrated the project: “The intervention is mediated by a portal called vivemeglio.enpap.it and offers a series of free services for citizens, with a screening on the state of psychological well-being. But there are also a number of self-help manuals. For people who live in the provinces that have been flooded since April 18th, we offer direct advice from our psychologists and psychotherapists for free interventions for the treatment of anxiety and depression based on the results of this screening. An in-person intervention mediated by general practitioners in these areas.”
Ada Moscarella of the General Steering Committee of the Institution, is the contact person for Tuscany for the project: “We expect that those involved will be above all young people aged 20 to 24 and 25 to 29, who already in the first edition of the project were those who turned most to our psychological support services for the prevention of anxiety and depression. Two age groups that were also particularly affected by the flood event with many critical issues that emerged: from the crisis in planning, to confidence in the future, up to the social and family relationships put in crisis by the flood which, by damaging their homes, often forced them to change their life plan by returning to live with their parents or having to host family members who have had their homes damaged.”
“What I was able to evaluate in my clinics – he explains Francesca Guerra general practitioner in Campi Bisenzio and coordinator of the Vivere Meglio project for Tuscany – is how disorders such as anxiety and depression are very frequent in women and in patients who already had a positive history of mental pathologies. And this increase in disorders correlates with the extent of harm patients have received and the social support they have received. This project provides very important help in supporting citizens to ensure that these disorders do not become chronic. These are psychologists who are hosted in our clinics and this serves to make patients aware of the fact that access to treatment of the body is at the same level as access to treatment of the mind”.
“In this second edition of the project dedicated in particular to the flooded populations – he says Fiammetta Cosci associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Florence – we expect participation in particular from a young and female population highly exposed to this traumatic event. Events such as a flood represent a risk factor for people’s mental health, not only for the day of the event but also for all subsequent events related to distress and loss. And it is essential to combat traumatic events through treatment paths.”
