Funding for a measure that allows Italian residents with a certain income to have state coverage for their psychotherapy sessions should be increased next year, according to an amendment put forward by coalition partner Forza Italia, echoing calls from the Socialists and the Order of Psychologists, who point to an ineffective system amid rising self-harm and suicide cases, particularly among youth.
Echoing the request already made by the opposition Democratic Party (S&D), Forza Italia (EPP) presented its amendment before the Senate Budget Committee, calling for an increase of the fund from €5 to €15 million for 2023 and from €8 million to €40 million for 2024.
“The aim is to protect the mental health of Italians, which is just as important as physical health”, said Senator Licia Ronzulli (Forza Italia/EPP), first signatory of the amendment presented together with Senator Claudio Lotito, member of the same party.
Beneficiaries who can claim no more than €50 per session and up to €1,500 a year must be residents and have an equivalent economic situation indicator (Isee) of less than €50,000.
However, while technical issues have made it impossible for beneficiaries to benefit so far this year, of the 400,000 who applied for the support when the measure was first implemented after the pandemic in 2022, only 40,000 had access to the state contribution, of which more than 60% were under 35, according to data.
While the Order of Psychologists has long called for the fund to be increased, the opposition Democratic Party (PD/S&D), which made its call before Forza Italia, had its Senator Filippo Sensi propose an amendment which called for €50 million a year fund from 2023, as well as for other measures to support mental health, especially for the youngest.
“The psychologist bonus must be secured, expanded, and financed. Mental health is and must be a priority. Wake up, government”, Sensi said after rapper singer-songwriter Fedez recently highlighted the issue in a television interview.
Italy is currently seeing a worrying rise in cases of self-harm and suicidal tendencies among 13-17-year-olds, soaring by 27% compared to pre-COVID levels, a recent study by the Italian Society of Childhood and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry has found.
Mental health is also a concern for the working population, with a study carried out among workers in the Lombardy region showing that 37.6% of respondents said that their employer did not promote mental health, and 60% said that stress had a negative impact on performance.
(Federica Pascale | Euractiv.it)
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