4 ‘READING

CATANIA – The third anniversary of the opening in Catania of the Psychological First Aid organized by the association of psychè professionals, is celebrated with the approval of the psychologist bonus by the Italian government.

The bonus

In fact, from this Monday 25 July on the INPS website it is possible to apply for the psychologist bonus, a contribution that can be worth up to 600 euros to support the cost of psychotherapy. From this date, potential beneficiaries will have 60 days to apply, i.e. until 24 October. The measure, for which funds equal to 10 million euros are allocated, was launched by the government by the Milleproroghe decree (legislative decree 228/2021 converted by law 15/2022) and has already exceeded the 100 thousand requests, far away from the allocated budget. for the initiative. Those entitled to the right, on the other hand, fall within the instructions of the INPS circular n. 83 of 19 July last: the patient must have an Isee of less than 50 thousand euros and must be included in the ranking drawn up by the institute that will take into account this requirement, but also the order of arrival of the requests while the professional must be enrolled in the Register of psychologists.

The psychological first aid service

“One of the goals that we set for this type of service was to help break down the taboo that has always characterized the psychologist, that is, that whoever goes to the psychologist is” crazy “declares the board of the PSP, continuing:” In a word, “normalize” a human need that has been silenced, hidden, denied, concealed for too long. “

Those who do not get to take advantage of the bonus, in fact, will still have the opportunity to take advantage of a consultation of specialists for 365 days a year, including holidays, at the facility which is open during the day from 09.30 to 19.30 and in night hours offers a telephone service for which the support coverage covers the total of 24 hours a day.

The data

From static research carried out on 484 patients who in the three years have come to the center, the majority of the population is between 21 and 30 years old, has a high school diploma, works or studies and until now had never turned to specialists for a psychological consultation. . Anxiety disorders, depressive crises, violence against women and family violence in general, bullying, eating and sexual disorders today represent everyday life even among very young people who, thanks to the two years of the pandemic, are increasingly involved. Primary medicine often becomes the frontier on which the management of complex situations from a social and psychological point of view falls. This is why the psychological first aid intends to work alongside and in collaboration with general practitioners in order, on the one hand, to relieve the latter from tasks that are not their own and, on the other, to respond effectively to requests for help from users. . Given these numbers, it is evident the need for new services that are not born in opposition but in a network with the services already present in the area. This is the case of the psychological first aid which constitutes a new center for intervention and listening to the needs of the territory.

“From the data reported we can see that most of the people seeking help are young, about 60% are aged between 20 and 40, this gives us hope that the culture is changing. Many people come to us even without an appointment, directly by ringing the bell and this is extraordinary for us: I saw the sign, finally today I had the courage, I decided to come enough! This is one of the phrases that people often reveal to us when they sit in front of us. And so we understand the labor that sometimes a person experiences before turning to a psychologist. But the data collected give us hope that in a few years going to the psychologist will never be a shame again, but an ordinary thing! “

The Psychological Emergency Room therefore becomes a service capable of decongesting public services such as PS., SPDC, CSM. Institutional help is necessary as the services present in the area may not be able, due to their numerical dimensions, to respond to the innumerable requests from the area.

Within the service, 18 specially trained psychologists (and 33 overall in the three provinces) work in the Catania office alone. Furthermore, the Catania Psychological Emergency Room is part of a larger project which, after the precursor example of Rome, also involved Adrano and Syracuse with the offices inaugurated in the following months and takes its cue from the “Walk in Services”, or rather a international approach in proposing psychotherapy and psychological counseling in a single session, revisited by the founders Martina Di Stefano, Maria De Gaetano, Agatina Di Primo (Psychologists-Psychotherapists) in their own specific model of intervention and completely innovative management .

Through innovative ideas and start-ups it is therefore possible to try to stem the employment difficulties of young psychologists, favoring an initiative that aims to improve the quality of life of many people as they are able to respond immediately to a series of pathologies, which often make the normal daily routine burdensome.